Vitality of woody plants as the aggregate basis of the ecological condition of urban and suburban ecosystems of the Khopyor river region

Gromova T. S., Siraeva I. S., Ermolenko A. S., Larionov N. V., Larionov M. V., Soldatova V. V., Kulagina E. Y., Yaitsky A. S.

This article presents the results of studies of the vitality of woody plants in functionally different territories of the Khopyor River Region (for example, municipal districts of the Voronezh and Saratov regions). For this purpose, a wide list of parameters of the development and state of this group of organisms in the composition of different ecosystems by origin and economic orientation was recorded and analyzed. Among suburban areas, the most alarming is the vital condition of woody plants within the forest areas of operational use, especially in the Gribanovsky, Povorino, Borisoglebsk districts of the Voronezh region, in the Arkadak, Balashov districts of the Saratov region. Among urbanized areas, woody plants in ecosystems created within transport, industrial, and municipal storage zones are the most weakened. These are the General identified trends in the state and environmental sustainability of representatives of the analyzed group of plants in both regions of the Khopyor River Region. Obtained and analyzed values of the vitality of woody plants made it possible to identify the levels of economic and human activity – from high in the index of the vitality of these organisms 50–69% to low level when the vitality of 86–100%. According to the parameters of plant vitality, one can fairly objectively judge the criteria for environmental comfort of the population's habitat in various territories of the Khopyor River Region. Information about the vital state of woody plants in various types of ecosystems can be used as a basis for work in the framework of: permanent monitoring of their condition, biological productivity and sustainability; evaluating the effectiveness of measures for the reconstruction of landscaping compositions; analyzing and justifying work to optimize the composition and structures of artificial and natural-economic ecosystems; developing a strategy for quality management of such ecosystems in landscape planning, aesthetic and environmental terms.

Keywords:woody plants; living conditions; ecosystems of functionally different territories; levels of economic and anthropogenic loads; areas of environmental stress.