On possibility of using Tamarix as indicator of the relief dynamics

Genus Tamarix includes about seventy species that are adapted to hot, dry growing conditions, but are able to withstand prolonged flooding and soil salinity. As a result, species of the genus Tamarix are common inhabitants of arid territories, while the sea, river and lake coasts are also an inhabitation of Tamarix . The ecological success of the Tamarix genus is ensured by the peculiarities of its life cycle and various adaptive functions. The ability of a plant to maintain its viability during a change in environmental conditions, including when the relief changes is the most important. In addition, Tamarix, having the ability to reduce the mobility of loose substrates, is able to change the relief in a relatively short time. The accumulative seacoasts are characterized by high dynamics of the relief. This paper discusses the possibility of determining the age of the formation of coastal landforms using information on the spatial location of both individual Tamarix specimens and its population within large marine coastal accumulative forms. It is shown that several physiological and ecological traits of the Tamarix genus make it possible to use it as an indicator of certain environmental conditions, existing or existed earlier in the places of its modern growth.