Scientific publications

Sandy automorphic soils are widely distributed in Fennoscandia. These habitats are generally dominated by pine forests and secondary communities of varying age. The article gives a taxonomic, geographical and ecological analysis of the coenoflora in the forests under study, and discusses changes in vascular plant species composition in relation to the type of the forest habitat and the age of the community. The research has shown that the differences in species composition in forests communities of various types of forest habitats are regular and dependent on the age of the community. On the early stages of reforestation, the species composition of taiga forest communities is enriched with alien and apophyte species due to the presence of available space and the lack of profound influence from the tree layer. These regularities are especially well observed in bilberry pine forests (Pinus sylvestris—Vaccinium myrtillus), where the potential flora is more diverse than in more severe conditions of lichen (Pinus sylvestris — Cladonia) and cowberry (Pinus sylvestris — Vaccinium vitis-idaea) habitats. The tree layer influence grows with years, it being manifested in decrease of the number of species involved in the formation of the phytocenosis, while the role of species with wide ecological amplitude increases.