(Book review) I. B. Kucherov. Phytocoenotical and ecological diversity of light-coniferous forests in the middle- and northern-boreal subzones of European Russia. St. Petersburg: Maraphon Publ., 2019. 568 p.

Following the dominant-floristic approach to vegetation classification, phytocoenotical diversity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) forests and open woodlands is observed in the middle- and northern-boreal subzones of European Russia and the Urals. The geographical distribution of the distinguished syntaxa is analyzed, and the replacing community types in the adjacent areas of Northern and Central Europe or Western Siberia are discussed. Spectra of both ecological (moisture, nutrition regime) and geographical (latitudinal, range type) elements of the syntaxon floras are analyzed for vascular plants and for epigeic mosses and lichens separately, taking the projective covers of species in each of the community layers into the account. Regularities of geographical distribution of the light-coniferous forest syntaxa are statistically proved at the level of species which form the communities of the respective types. The dependencies of pine forest species cover upon the growing period warmth supply and the climate continentality factors are analyzed as Pearson correlations. Differences in species composition and cover in light-coniferous forests developed on silicate vs. carbonate or sulfate bedrock are checked using the Student t-test, as well as those influenced by soil of different granulometric composition. The influence of rock outcrops in upland forests and of peat deposit thickness in bog forests is also taken into the account in the latter case. Regularities of the intralandscape distribution of pine forests of the extrazonal syntaxa are revealed. The list of rare communities of light-coniferous forests is given together with an annotated checklist of rare and protected plants and lichens growing in the latter. The proposals on the rare community protection are attached.

The book is designed for research specialists and students in the spheres of vegetation science, ecology, plant and vegetation geography, florology, bioclimatology, forestry, and nature conservation.

With 34 tables, 1190 references.