В Астрахани прошел очередной Пленум Геоморфологической комиссии РАН по проблемам геоморфологических систем – теоретических и прикладных аспектов в их исследовании.

The results showed that the salt content in the top soil layer drops and the productivity of the aboveground plant mass rises in the middle part of the Volga River delta. It was revealed that the horizontal migration of populations of plant species is significant and their shift along the height gradient is slight. This may be related to a rise in soil moistening, changes in the agricultural use of the aboveground biomass, or a possible effect of acid precipitation.

Vegetation dynamics was assessed using the data of repeated observations (1979–1981, 2011) along transects established in the mid-delta area of the Volga River. In 2011, we noted changes in the vegetative cover that indicate new features in the economic use of foraging sites, an increase in moisture content, and a reduction in soil salinity.

The floristic composition of plant communities dominated by Carex acuta in the northern Volga-Akhtuba floodplain has been analyzed over the period from 1928 to 2009. It has been shown that, in 2008 to 2009, some hygrophytes disappeared from these phytocenoses; simultaneously, their composition was enriched with mesophytes and adventive species. Ramenskii’s ecological scales have indicated a decrease in water supply to habitats of the communities studied.