Community Sporobolus cryptandrus (Torr.) A. Gray in the northern part of Volga-Akhtuba floodplain

On the territory of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, plant communities including Sporobolus cryptandrus are found. This is an adventitious species from North America that came to Europe in the early 20th century. In Russia, Sporobolus cryptandrus was first discovered in 1998 on the territory of the Volgograd region. Currently, Sporobolus cryptandrus is actively distributed throughout the Volgograd regions. Probably, Sporobolus cryptandrus was introduced together with imported grain and mixed fodders. This species was originally built into the plant communities of sandy steppes. In this paper, we describe the S. cryptandrus communities that we found in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain. The descriptions were carried out at twosites in the northern part of the floodplain. Geobotanical sites are located on the near-bed sand banks along the river bed. Akhtuba. Completed 19 geobotanical descriptions. All descriptions were accumulated in an electronic database based on the TURBOVEG program. Communities of Sporoboluscryptandrus are characterized bypoor floristic composition, low overall projective cover. Habitats of communities are subject toshort-term flooding in thespring-summer period, aswell as cattle grazing. In communities dominated: Sporobolus cryptandrus, Secale sylvestre, Artemisia marschalliana . We assume that these phytocenoses can be classified as cl. Artemisietea tchernievianae Golub 1994 . Sporobolus cryptandrus has shown itself as an agriophyte and a transformer species that can completely replace the dominant cereal species in sand steppe communities or be introduced to pioneer communities at an early stage of overgrowth. Settling of this adventive species can lead to the loss of the natural appearance of the vegetation of sandy substrates. Propagation processes need further observation and analysis.