ECOLOGY OF THE PLATANTHERA CHLORANTHA (CUST) SPECIES REICHENB. (ORCHIDACEAE) IN THE NORTH-WESTERN CAUCASUS

Perebora Elena Alexandrovna

The article presents the results of long-term monitoring of the Platanthera chloran-tha species, which stands out for its high decorative value and plays a significant role in the formation of natural mountain and forest herbaceous phytocenoses in the North-Western Caucasus. Platanthera chlorantha belongs to tuberous perenni-als forming specific root-stem organs of the reserve of vegetative reproduction. These formations are known in pharmacology and medicine under the name salep and contain a large number of useful biologically active substances that have been used in folk medicine for a long time, which has caused damage to the cenopopula-tions of species. Almost all species of orchids of the temperate zone are vulnerable and need protection. The reasons are not only their useful properties, but also some peculiarities of biology, in particular reproduction. Platanthera chlorantha is listed in the Red Book of the Krasnodar Territory with the conservation status of 3 HC, the IUCN Red List with the threat category VUB2b (ii, iii, iv). Therefore, the purpose of this work was to assess the state of the natural cenopopulations of Platanthera chlorantha, the peculiarities of ecology and biology, the degree of vul-nerability and prospects for their conservation. Observations made it possible to identify 30 coenopopulations of Platanthera chlorantha within the North-Western Caucasus, to estimate their abundance and breeding prospects, and to make a geo-botanical description of associations with their participation. An ecological as-sessment of habitats is given. Despite the rather strong anthropogenic impact, ce-nopopulations are normal incomplete with a predominance of generative and vir-ginal individuals with the absence of senile ones. This ratio favors the reproduc-tion of plants and the maintenance of the number of cenopopulations, which is subject to cyclical fluctuations mainly as a result of adverse weather conditions in the form of drought, waterlogging, etc. The negative impact on the condition of ce-nopopulations is largely due to continuous logging.

Keywords:genus Platanthera chlorantha, North-Western Caucasus, ecology, cenopopula-tions, ratio of age groups, tree associations, tuberoids