2024 Issue №4

The level of urbanization is steadily increasing and has already surpassed 82 % in Central Russia. Urban ecosystems face environmental imbalances that can be mitigated through the use of green plants. Establishing an ecological framework plays a key role in addressing this issue. Natural ecosystems serve as the cores of the ecological framework. In urbanized areas, these cores may include urban forests, forest parks, and natural ecosystems forming green belts around cities. Using the city of Oryol as an example, the study highlights the significance of forest parks as the cores of the ecological framework and as areas of high phytodiversity, including rare and protected plant species. Monitoring studies of the forest parks forming Oryol’s green belt were conducted between 2016 and 2024. These studies analyzed vegetation and identified the floristic composition within these areas. Forest parks fulfill diverse ecological functions, including recreational purposes, which necessitated an assessment of their recreational load. The studied forest parks are in the second to third stages of recreational degradation, yet they possess high recreational potential. Scientifically informed urban planning that incorporates these suburban forests as cores of the city’s ecological framework will not only enhance the environmental quality of urbanized areas but also contribute to the conservation of biodiversity.

Industrial dumps serve as natural habitats for numerous biocenoses due to the specific features and directionality of early soil formation processes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of soil cover and bioremediation on coal dumps. It is demonstrated that the lithological heterogeneity of disturbed territories in Kuzbass is influenced by mining technologies, which directly affect the methods of coal extraction. The study establishes that eluviated material on technogenically disturbed lands shows significant variations in physical and chemical properties depending on the conditions of formation. These differences determine the varying quality of the resulting soils and underscore the need for reclamation efforts. Phytocenoses at later metastable stages of development exhibit impoverished composition and structural deficiencies upon reaching this stage. It is proven that the impact of vegetation on young soils, supplemented by fertilization, can lead to the accumulation of biophilic elements in the upper soil profile. The presence of rare earth and radioactive elements in anthracite slows the development of biota on dump surfaces due to their potentially toxic effects on microorganisms and vegetation. Bioremediation is shown to focus on restoring soil formation processes, enhancing soil self-purification capabilities, and re-establishing phytocenoses. The selection of plant species for reclamation is based on their ability to thrive in technogenically disturbed landscapes. These species should belong to a group of resilient plants with high phytoremediation potential, such as Pinus sylvestris, Picea pungens, Larix decidua, Physocarpus opulifolius, Betula pubescens, Populus nigra, Caragana arborescens, Rosa rugosa, and Elaeagnus commutata. These species are characterized by high resistance to adverse factors and are considered promising for biological reclamation of technogenically disturbed landscapes.