FEATURES OF THE DIVERSITY OF FOREST PHYTOCENOSIS OF THE STATE NATURE RESERVE «BESHTAUGORSKIY»

The article presents the results of the study of forest phytocenoses of the Beshtaugorsky State Nature Reserve located in the Mineralovodsky and Predgorny Districts of the Stavropol Territory. The object of the study is the unique ecosystem of the reserve with an area of 16,012 hectares, including nine laccolith mountains. Particular attention is paid to a detailed study of the floristic diversity and structure of plant communities of the territory. Particular attention is paid to the study of the altitudinal zonation of vegetation and its relationship with the landscape and climatic conditions of the territory. It was revealed that hornbeam dominates on the northern slopes, and English oak and sessile oak dominate on the southern slopes. The study identified the main types of plant communities: broad-leaved mountain forests, high-mountain meadows and crooked forests, mountain steppes, forb-feather-grass and desert Tauride-wormwood-tussock-cereal steppes, as well as vegetation of reservoirs and waterlogged places. The obtained results are of great importance for developing strategies for the protection and rational use of the natural resources of the reserve, as well as for understanding the mechanisms of formation and functioning of mountain forest ecosystems in the region.