Scientific publications

Bryofloristic and geobotanical surveys of Lysaya Mount was carried out in July 2023. Mount Lysaya is the only treeless hill with fairly discrete altitudinal zonation near Polyarnye Zori City and Kola nuclear power station (Murmansk Region). An annotated list of mosses was compiled for Mount Lysaya, providing data on occurrence in different altitudinal belts, habitats and substrates. The list comprises 85 species (87 items if below-species taxa are included). The species structure in different altitudinal belts of Mount Lysaya is largely determined by the presence of certain habitats. Substratewise, epigeic forest and mire species prevailed, while saxicolous, epiphytic, epixylic, fine-earth, and mire-hollow mosses were represented by few species. Mosses on the forest floor and woody substrates were mostly species with a high ecological amplitude, with not a single obligate epiphytic or epixylic species. Among epilithic species, only two Andreaea rupestris and Racomitrium microcarpon, occurred quite frequently. As regards moisture, the flora mostly consisted of species that prefer mesic (52 %) and hydric (47 %) habitats. In terms of substrate richness preferences, mesotrophic (52 %) and eutrophic (37 %) mosses prevailed. Two mosses listed in the Red Data Book of the Murmansk Region (2014): Mnium hornum and Trichodon cylindricus, were spotted during the survey. Another two rare mosses, Buxbaumia aphylla and Tetradontium repandum, are reported based on the literature. The sample from the tundra belt contained Polytrichum densifolium. This is so far the only specimen of this species of Murmansk Region provenance in the Herbarium of the Avrorin Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute (KPABG).