Protected habitats of the old cemeteries of the Right-Bank of Dnipro Grass Steppe District
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32999/ksu1990-553X/2024-20-4-6Keywords:
biodiversity, steppes, conservation, cultural sites, old cemeteries, vascular plants, UkraineAbstract
Questions: What protected habitats are there in the old cemeteries of the Right Bank of the Dnipro Grass Steppe? What characterises them and how can they be protected? Locations: Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa Regions (Ukraine). Materials and methods: field observations and herbarium collections, microscope technique. Nomenclature: POWO 2024, Mosyakin & Fedoronchuk 1999 Results: Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of cultural heritage sites of anthropogenic origin for preserving biodiversity. Old cemeteries are one of the cultural sites. We studied 50 old cemeteries in the Steppe Zone of Ukraine. We conducted our study in the Right-Bank of Dnipro Grass Steppe Geobotanical District (Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa Regions) during 2007–2024. The old cemeteries contain three types of protected habitats from Resolution 4 of the Bern Convention: E1.2 Perennial calcareous grasslands and basic steppes, F3.241 Central European subcontinental thickets, F3.247 Ponto-Sarmatic deciduous thickets. The habitat E1.2 is characterized by the highest conservation value, with communities of three formations from the Green Book of Ukraine and 41 protected plant species. Two other types have low sozological value. Only 3 species of regionally rare plants (Limonium platyphyllum, Muscari neglecta and Vinca herbacea) were recorded within the F3.241 habitat. Among the communities of habitat F3.247, one syntaxon included in the Green Data Book of Ukraine - the community of the formation Amygdaleta nanae and three regionally rare plant species (Limonium platyphyllum, Prunus tenella and Vinca herbacea) were found. The preservation of protected habitats in old cemeteries is made possible by the respectful attitude observed towards burial sites in Ukraine. The primary threats to habitats are the practice of reburial, and the introduction of alien species into the area, absent a lack of management aimed at uprooting the alien trees and shrubs and removing the dry litter within the cemetery. One of the ways to preserve the land could be including some active old cemeteries to the Emerald sites or to declare inactive cemeteries as natural monuments. It is also advisable to launch a soft information campaign explaining how to provide an environmentally friendly burial service that does not harm natural biodiversity.
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