Mosses of the key plot “Kotorovo”, Salair Ridge, Altai-Sayan Mountain region.

Salair ridge is northwestern spur of the Altai-Sayan mountain system. That is a low peneplain, indistinctly expressed in relief with average altitudes ca. 400 m. Macroslopes of Salair are asymmetric, the eastern one being steep, while the western is more gentle. The ridge surface is covered with a thick layer of quaternary sediments, mainly eolian loess, which is especially thick on the western slope. Rocky outcrops occur mainly in river valleys. Annual precipitation is about 1000 mm on the western slope, declining to 400 mm in the rain shadow on the eastern one. The ridge is totally within the forest belt. But the forest belt is heterogeneous: the difference in local climates, supported by differences in drainage, provides differentiation of forest vegetation. The largest areas are occupied by black fir-aspen forests (Abies sibirica + Populus tremula), the communities form continuous carpet covering the gently sloping watersheds. On the steep and drier eastern macroslope of the ridge, mesophilic grassy pine and birch forests prevaile. The key plot “Kotorovo” is а spot of well-preserved native vegetation in the axial part of the ridge, in the belt of black forests; researches of the diversity and functioning of the communities were carried out there in 1980-2000. The author's long-term research on this territory focused on the area between the settlement Kotorovo and Suenga, in the upper Suenga river tributaries basin.