Pteridophyte of the Urals and adjacent areas

Study Extent

The dataset contains information on the distribution of lycophytes and ferns in 9 administrative regions of the Russian Federation. The regions are located in the Cis-Urals (Perm Territory, the Udmurt Republic), in the Urals (Republic of Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk Oblast and Sverdlovsk Oblast), in the Trans-Urals and Western Siberia (Kurgan Oblast and Tyumen Oblast, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug). The latitudinal gradient covers the taiga, forest-steppe, steppe, forest-tundra, and tundra natural zones.

Sampling

The dataset presented is based on herbarium specimens stored in the herbarium collections of the Komarov Botanical Institute (LE), Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MHA), the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SVER), the Ural Federal University (UFU), the Udmurt State University (UDU), the Perm State National Research University (PERM), Chelyabinsk State University (CSUH), Tobolsk Complex Scientific Station of the UB RAS (TOB), Institute of Biology, Ufa Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UFA), Kurgan State University and Tyumen State University, as well as published data of lycophytes and ferns plants of the Urals and adjacent territories. In addition, materials from the authors' field studies were taken into account. Georeferencing was carried out using GPS. All coordinates were converted into WGS84 datum. The coordinates for the old samples were determined using the Yandex Maps service. Coordinate uncertainty for all occurrences was 100 metres. The nomenclature of species was determined mainly according to Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG, 2016) and database "World Ferns. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World. Version 12.4" (Hassler, M. (2004 - 2021), URL: www.worldplants.de/ferns/).

Quality Control

The data were collected and processed by specialists from Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Institute of Biology of the Ufa Scientific Center of the RAS, Botanical Garden of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UB RAS), Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the UB RAS, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Perm State National Research University, Udmurt State University, Tyumen Scientific Centre of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS), Tobolsk Complex Scientific Station of the UB RAS, Botanical Garden of the Chelyabinsk State University, Tsytsin Main Moscow Botanical Garden RAS.

Method steps

1. The dataset presented is based on herbarium specimens stored in the herbarium collections of the Komarov Botanical Institute (LE), Tsitsin Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MHA), the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SVER), the Ural Federal University (UFU), the Udmurt State University (UDU), the Perm State National Research University (PERM), Chelyabinsk State University (CSUH), Tobolsk Complex Scientific Station of the UB RAS (TOB), Institute of Biology, Ufa Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UFA), Kurgan State University and Tyumen State University, as well as published data on lycophytes and ferns of the Urals and adjacent territories. In addition, materials from the authors' field studies were taken into account. The Sampling Events dataset fields’ names were chosen according to Darwin Core (Wieczorek et al. 2012) and include the following: «occurrenceID», «scientificName», «family», «genus», «specificEpithet», «infraspecificEpithet», «scientificNameAuthorship», «establishmentMeans», «country», «countryCode», «language», «stateProvince», «county», «verbatimLocality», «decimalLatutude», «decimalLongitude», «footprintWKT», «footprintSRS», «minimumElevationInMeters», «habitat», «eventDate», «year», «month», «day», «fieldNumber», «basisOfRecord», «recordedBy», «identifiedBy», «CollectionCode», «catalogNumber», «bibliographicCitation». In order to publish our dataset on the GBIF network, we adjusted our records to the Darwin Core specifications (Wieczorek et al. 2012 ). Georeferencing was carried out using GPS. All coordinates were converted into WGS84 datum. The nomenclature of species was determined mainly according to Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group (PPG, 2016) and database "World Ferns. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of Ferns and Lycophytes of the World. Version 12.4" (Hassler, M. (2004 - 2021), URL: www.worldplants.de/ferns/).

The list includes 65 species of Pteridophyte Class Lycopodiopsida, Polypodiopsida In total, the dataset contains information on 66 species, 4 subspecies and 10 interspecies hybrids of Lycophytes and Ferns, 2 classes (Lycopodiopsida and Polypodiopsida), 16 families and 29 genera.

1. Lycopodiopsida
   rank: class
2. Polypodiopsida
   rank: class
3. Equisetidae
   rank: subclass
4. Ophioglossidae
   rank: subclass
5. Polypodiidae
   rank: subclass

The studies were conducted in the Ural-West Siberian sector of the Russian Federation, where the species diversity of lycophytes and ferns of the Udmurt Republic, Perm Krai, Republic of Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Kurgan Oblast and Tyumen Oblast, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug were studied. The Udmurt Republic and the Perm Krai are located in the Cis-Urals region. The area of the Udmurt Republic is about 42100 km2. In the north-south direction the region outstretch is 270 km (56°00' и 58°30' N), and in the west-east direction is 180 km (51°15' и 54°30' E). The Perm Krai is located within 61°39′–56°06′ N and 51°47′–59°39′ E. The region area is 160600 km2. In the north-south direction the region outstretch is 600 km, and in the west-east direction is 400 km. The territory of Udmurtia and the most part of Perm Krai are situated in the north-east of the East European Plain. The relief is predominantly flat, with alternating hills and depressions. The eastern districts of the Perm Krai are situated in the foothills of the Middle and Northern Urals. The relief varies from ridgy hilly to low- and medium-hilly. The next 3 regions (Republic of Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk Oblast and Sverdlovsk Oblast) are located within the Urals physical-geographical mountainous country. The Republic of Bashkortostan is located within 51°31′–56°34′ N and 53°10′–59°59′ E. The republic area is 143600 km2. In the north-south direction the region outstretch is 550 km, and in the west-east direction is 450 km. The Chelyabinsk Oblast is situated between 51º57´–56º22´ N and 57º05´–63º25´ E. The area is 87.9 thousand square kilometers, and its length from the north to the south is about 490 km, from the west to the east is about 400 km. The Sverdlovsk Oblast area is 194800 km2. In the north-south direction the region outstretch is 660 km (from 56º03' N to 61º57' N), and in the west-east direction is 560 km (from 57º14' E to 66º11' E). Most of the territory of the regions is located in the mountainous part of the Urals, mountainous relief is presented here. The extreme parts of the regions are the eastern edge of the East European Plain, which corresponds to a flat and hilly relief. The eastern part of Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast includes sections of the West Siberian lowlands and have a typically flat relief. Kurgan Oblast and Tyumen Oblast, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug are located in the Trans-Urals within the West Siberian Plain with the adjacent eastern macro-slopes of the Northern, Circumpolar and Polar Urals. The area of the Tyumen Oblast is 1464200 km2, its length from south to north is 2100 km (55°10ʹ–77°30ʹ N), from west to east is 1400 km (58°50ʹ–86°00ʹ E). The region is comprised of three independent subjects of the Russian Federation – the Tyumen Oblast (with the area of 160100 km2), Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra (with the area of 534800 km2) and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (with the area of 769300 km2). The area of the Kurgan Oblast is 71500 km2, its maximum length from the North to the South is 290 km (56°48'–54°14'), from the West to the East is 430 km (62°06'–68°37'). The main type of relief – plain, with elevations up to 250–300 meters high, located mainly along the right banks of the large rivers – Ob and Irtysh. In general, the climate of the Urals is characterized by continentality, expressed in sharp annual fluctuations in air temperature and a moderate amount of atmospheric precipitation. As an obstacle to the movement of air masses from west to east, the Urals restrains and weakens the influence of the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern territories. Behind the Urals there is a so-called "rain shadow": there is less precipitation here than in the Cis-Urals. The annual amount of precipitation in the plains of the Cis-Urals is 450–600 mm. In the mountains of the Northern Urals 800–850 mm (in some places more than 1000 mm) of precipitation fall annually, then the average annual amount of precipitation decreases to 450–650 mm in the Middle Urals and 300–320 mm in the South Urals. In the Trans-Urals, the annual amount of precipitation ranges from 300–350 mm in the flat southeast and north to 450–600 in the central part, reaching a maximum in the mountains of the Subpolar and Polar Urals is more than 700 mm. Moving from the north to the south the climate becomes warmer: the average annual temperature increases from –8°C to +2°C, the duration of snow cover decreases from 170–180 to 145–160 days, respectively, the growing season (with average daily temperatures above +5°C) increases from 60 days in the north of Tyumen Oblast and 110–120 days in the northern parts of the mountainous Urals to 160–170 days in the South Trans-Ural. The hydrothermal coefficient in the northern regions is 1.8–2.0, in the central regions it is 1.4–1.6, and in the warmest southern regions it varies from 0.6 to 1.1. In the Cis-Urals, the sum of positive temperatures above +10 °С ranges from 1250–1300 °С in the northeast to 1950–2000 °С in the southwestern regions. In the mountainous part and the Trans-Urals, the sum of temperatures varies from north to south from 1000–1250 °C to 1400–1700 °C. The highest values of the sum of temperatures are observed in the southern regions of Bashkiria and the Chelyabinsk Oblast is 2000–2300 °C. The study area is located within five vegetation zones: forest, forest-steppe, steppe, forest-tundra, and tundra. Forest vegetation occupies most of the studied area. In the mountainous regions, on the western slope of the Northern and Middle Urals, the most widespread dark coniferous forests are Picea obovata and Abies sibirica, usually with a greater or lesser admixture of Betula sp., and sometimes Tilia cordata (as a undergrowth). In the northern part of the Sverdlovsk Oblast and Perm Krai there are forests with Pinus sibirica. In the Cis-Urals, on the western macroslope of the southern part of the Middle and northern part of the Southern Urals, there are broad-leaved dark coniferous forests of Picea obovata and Abies sibirica with a more or less significant admixture of Tilia cordata, Úlmus glábra and Acer platanoides. On the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan (the southern part of the Bashkir Cis-Urals) and adjacent areas of the Chelyabinsk Oblast, broad-leaved mixed forests of Tilia cordata, Úlmus glábra, Acer platanoides prevail, but areas of Acer platanoides and Quercus robur forests with a slight admixture of other broad-leaved species are also common. The eastern slope of the Urals and the northern part of the West Siberian Plain are territories with a continuous predominance of pine forests with an insignificant admixture of Larix sibirica. In the mountains, near the upper border of the forest (in the subalpine belt), there is a strip of Picea obovata, Larix sibirica and Pinus sibirica sparse forests alternating with a birch krummholz formation, Juniperus sibirica knee timbers and subalpine tall grass meadows. Above it is a belt of mountain tundra. The mountain-tundra vegetation is dominated by shrub-lichen and grass-moss mountain tundra; other types of tundra communities (Vaccinieto-uliginosi-lichen, Salicetum, Betuletum nanae, Juncus-dominated, Dryas and Arctous alpina communities) are much less common. Forest-steppe vegetation is represented by two areas. The first is located in the western part of the study area (the Cis-Ural forest-steppe): the Kungur forest-steppe in the Perm Krai, the Krasnoufimskaya forest-steppe in the Sverdlovsk Oblast, and the Mesyagutov forest-steppe in Bashkiria and in the western part of the Chelyabinsk Oblast. The vegetation cover here is represented by a combination of birch, aspen, pine-birch and oak-birch groves on the northern slopes of hills, in ravines and depressions of the relief with motley-grass meadow steppes and steppe meadows on gentle slopes of hills and river valleys. The second area of forest-steppe vegetation is located in the east, in the southern part of the Ural sector of the West Siberian Plain (the forest-steppe of the Trans-Urals). This territory covers the Kurgan Oblast, the east of the Chelyabinsk Oblast and Sverdlovsk Oblast and the south of the Tyumen Oblast. The vegetation consists of birch and aspen-birch ‘kolok’ (forest in the steppe), small areas of steppe pine (Pinus sylvestris) and pine-birch (Pinus sylvestris+Betula alba s.l.) forests, alternating with areas of steppe meadows, meadow and petrophytic steppes. The steppe zone occupies the southern part of the Trans-Urals within the Chelyabinsk Oblast and Bashkiria, and is also represented in the southern part of the Bashkir Cis-Urals. The vegetation cover is represented on the watersheds by communities of true herb-feather-grass and feather-grass-fescue steppes. In hollows with more abundant moisture, there are areas of meadow steppes and steppe meadows. Petrophytic steppes are widespread along the outcrops of rocks on the tops and slopes of the ridges. The Tyumen Oblast is the most waterlogged region of the Earth. Swamps occupy more than 50% of the area here. For the Northern, Subpolar and Polar Urals, within the boundaries of the region, a low-mountainous and, in part, a middle-mountainous relief are characteristic. At the level of 61–62°N passes the southern boundary of the distribution of permafrost. In the north of the Tyumen Oblast there are forest-tundra and tundra vegetation, dominated by dwarf birch and moss-lichen tundra. In the taiga zone podzolic, soddy-podzolic soils and gray forest soils are the most widespread. In the steppe and forest-steppe zones meadow-chernozem soils, leached, podzolized and typical chernozems are represented. Saline soils (salts and solonchaks) are often formed in depressions of the relief. In tundra cold tundra-gley soils are the most widespread, in forest tundra – gley-podzol soils.