FOREST PHYTOCOENOSES FORMATION ON SERPENTINE DUMPS OF ASBESTOS DEPOSIT, MIDDLE URALS, RUSSIA

The mineral deposits’ development is accompanied by significant disturbances of soil and
vegetation in large areas. The study of initial stages of disturbed lands natural overgrowing makes
it possible to assess patterns of vegetation formation. Forest phytocoenoses formation on serpentine
substrates in the Middle Urals, Russia (taiga zone, subzone of southern taiga) was studied
in this work. The research was carried out at four dumps of Anatol’sko-Shilovsky asbestos
deposit. It was found that forest communities with the dominance of Pinus sylvestris L. are formed
on dump sites with the predominance of overburden rocks. The herb-shrub layer of these phytocoenoses
was dominated by Calamagrostis arundinacea (L.) Roth. The slopes of dumps and
areas with compacted soil are overgrown with sparse undersized forest vegetation dominated by
P. sylvestris and Betula pendula Roth. In herb-shrub layer of these areas, the most common were
relict species Dendranthema zawadskii (Herbich) Tzvel. and rare for the Urals species, Epipactis
atrorubens (Hoffm.) Besser (orсhid) and Thymus talijevii Klok. & Des.-Shost. The geobotanical
and soil investigations have shown that all studied parameters (such as humidity, pH value,
Mg:Ca ratio) influenced the formation of forest phytocoenoses. In general, the formation of forest
vegetation on serpentine dumps is a very long process and it depends on specific climatic and
soil conditions.