Vascular plants on abrasion coast in the northwestern part of the Black Sea Caucasian coast

Abrasion coast (cliffs) are characterized by heterogeneity of the spatial structure and mobility of the substrate, which creates specific environmental conditions for plants. Nevertheless, plant communities of cliffs of the Black Sea coast of the northwestern Caucasus are relatively rich in species and are characterized by a high proportion of endemic species, which makes them attractive to researchers. However, insufficient attention is paid to the study of the species diversity of plant communities of this type. Thus, the aim of this work was to study the species composition of higher vascular plants on the abrasive coast of the Black Sea coast of the northwestern Caucasus. Methods. Taking into account the geomorphological features of the relief, the studied area was divided into 112 sites for which the species composition was determined. The number of individual species, as well as the area of their projective cover was not taken into account. In addition, chorological analysis of vascular plant species was performed. Results. On the studied cliff, 132 species of vascular plants were found, including 6 species found in the Red List of the Russian Federation. Extreme unevenness in the density distribution of vegetation was noted, which may be due to the heterogeneity of the relief and the mobility of the substrate. Analysis of supraspecific taxa (families) showed the predominance of representatives of the Apiaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae families in the plant community.