Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park "Smolny" (Russia)

Study Extent

Material was collected in Mordovia State Nature Reserve and National Park “Smolny” of 2008, 2010-2013, 2015-2021.

Sampling

Used standard collecting methods: pitfall-traps, sweeping, litter sifting and manual collecting. The main part of the material is obtained from soil traps with a fixator, collecting from herbaceous vegetation and shrubs, by shaking off bushes and low trees. Collection sites are typical biotopes of two protected areas - forests of various types, structures, origins and ages (pine forests, mixed forests, spruce forests, birch forests, broad-leaved forests, floodplain wet broad-leaved forests, alder forests), forest clearings, meadow stands. Preservation was carried out either in traps (soil traps with formalin) or alcohol when caught by other methods.

Method steps

1. The main volume of the material was collected by A.B. Ruchin, O.V. Agafonova, M.N. Yesin and G.B. Semishin. Species were identified by S. Esyunin.

1. Arachnida
   common name: Spiders rank: class

The dataset present spider fauna (Arachnida, Araneae) in Mordovia State Nature Reserve (MSNR) and National Park “Smolny” (NPS)(Russia). Both study areas are located in the centre of the Russian plain in the Republic of Mordovia (central European part of Russia). The MSNR is located in the Oka-Don Lowland. The MSNR covers 321.62 sq. km. Its boundary position at the juncture of two landscape zones, forest-steppe and forest, is an important distinguishing feature of the territory. The MSNR area itself is located in the broad-leaved forest zone, but its eastern, south-eastern and southern borders coincide with the border of the forest-steppe zone. Forest ecosystems occupy 89.3% of the area. Forests are mainly represented by pine and mixed forests. Birch and alder forests form on the burned areas of 2010 and 2021. Broadleaved forests are few and mostly located in the northern, western and south-western parts in the floodplains of the rivers. The MSNR is climatically part of the Atlantic-continental temperate zone. Since 1936 when the MSNR was established, some warming has been recorded, i.e., an increase in mean annual precipitation and a degree of continental climate have been observed. The NPS is located in the Volga Upland. It covers an area of 363.86 km2. Pine forests are the main type of forest ecosystems. They are mainly located in the southern and central parts. The northern part is dominated by broad-leaved forests, where the main forest forming species are linden (Tilia cordata Mill.), oak (Quercus robur L.), maple (Acer platanoides L.), ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) and elm (Ulmus spp.). Alder groves form in the floodplains of some rivers and streams (Kirillov and Kirillova 2021). In contrast to the MSNR, there are many more open areas in the NPS. These are large glades, places where former settlements were located, clearings under power lines, etc. The majority of NPS forest ecosystems are man-made, for example pine forests. Broad-leaved forests were most often formed on sites of large clearcuts before the NPS was established and originated from stumps on the site of clearcuts. The climate is moderately continental.