Fedina L.A., Malysheva S.K.
Vestnik IrGSHA 2022; (108): 92-99
It is reported about the discovery of a new habitat of the rare orchid Ponerorchis cucullata in the Ussuri urban district of Primorsky territory. Typical habitats for this species of orchid are coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests with a developed moss cover. In the Ussuriisk urban district, Ponerorchis cucullata was found in an atypical place - in a black-birch oak forest without mossy areas. The thickness of the litter layer is 3 cm, the soils are brown forest. The population on an area of 50 m² is represented by 27 individuals growing under the canopy of a sparse forest (crown canopy density is 65-75 %.) Ten flowering plants of this rare species were noted; of them, 4 specimens of Ponerorchis cucullata grow in a group, the rest are distributed singly. On Primorsky territory, this species of orchid is known from a few habitats and was previously reported for the Ussuriysk urban district almost a hundred years ago. It is a rare species included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and regional Red Books. It is under special protection in eight Far Eastern nature reserves. It occupies an extensive Eurasian area. In the Russian Far East, the populations have a low number of individuals. The revealed habitat of this orchid plant is remote from the places of primary finds (Ussuriysky (Suputinsky) nature reserve, Suputinskaya dacha) at a considerable distance of about one hundred kilometers. In the new locality, Ponerorchis cucullata is represented by generative and immature plants with a total number of 27 individuals (of which 10 are flowering). It has been established that this habitat of Ponerorchis cucullata is characterized by atypical growth conditions for this species (absence of moss cover). The discovery of a new population of Ponerorchis cucullata makes it possible to expand the understanding of the distribution of this rare species on the southeastern border of its range. The factors that threaten the conservation of the population of Ponerorchis cucullata in the Ussuri urban district of Primorsky territory are: the small number of the population, the economic use of land, and damage to the forest floor by ground fires.
