Conservation of plant biodiversity in the territory of the state nature reserve «Gornensky» (Rostov region)

The article describes the characteristics of the flora and vegetation of the specially protected natural area (SPNА) of the Rostov region - the State Nature Reserve «Gornensky» (SNR «Gornensky»). The reserve is located in the west of the Rostov region on the eastern spurs of the Donetsk Ridge on the watershed between the Kundryuchya and Grushevka rivers and on the slopes of their valleys. The SNR «Gornensky» consists of 5 cluster plots with a total area of 8628.96 ha. More than 30 % of the territory of the protected area is occupied by forest plantations of Donleskhoz, established in 1876. The territory of the reserve belongs to the subzone of real forb-soddy-cereal steppes. Natural vegetation is currently not experiencing large-scale anthropogenic impact. Steppe, petrophyte, forest and meadow plant communities of the SNR include a small number of weed species, the syntropization index is 15.2 %. The flora of the reserve includes 505 species of seed plants from 70 families and 277 genera. The flora is dominated by species of steppe ecology. On the territory of the reserve live cenopopulations of 29 species included in the Red Lists of the Rostov Region and the Russian Federation, as well as 64 species included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The SNR «Gornensky» is the only protected area in the Rostov region where the population of the rare relict species Muscari neglectum Guss. ex Ten. is currently protected. The floristic representativeness of the SNR «Gornensky» in relation to the flora of the Rostov region is 26.3%. The results of the inventory of flora and vegetation testify to the significant role of this SPNA in the conservation of plant biodiversity in the Rostov region.