Russian Journal of Ecology, Vol. 34, No. 4, 2003, pp. 215218. Translated from Ekologiya, No. 4, 2003, pp.

243247.
Original Russian Text Copyright 2003 by Antipina.

Urban Flora as a Component of the Urban Ecosystems

in the Taiga Zone: An Example of Karelian Cities
G. S. Antipina
Petrozavodsk State University, pr. Lenina 33, Petrozavodsk, 185640 Russia
Received March 12, 2002

AbstractCities are areas of increased diversity of species in the taiga zone. The aboriginal fraction of Kare-
lian flora is a stable natural system whose main characteristics are preserved in the urban flora. The adventive
fraction, which is a dynamic component of the flora, has not been completely formed in the cities, as well as in
eastern Fennoscandia as a whole. It has become substantially richer during the past 2025 years. Cities of the
taiga zone may serve as objects for monitoring the anthropogenic processes of flora transformation in the North.

Key words: taiga zone, city, urban ecosystem, flora, urban flora.

Cities are among the most important anthropogeni- environment; and patches of natural (mainly forest,
cally transformed ecosystems in which millions of peo- coastal, and aquatic) vegetation are preserved within
ple live their lives. The improvement of the natural them. This favors the maintenance of the populations of
environment is an urgent task for cities with adverse entirely nonurban forest, bog, and coastal aboriginal
natural conditions, including northern cities. plant species. On the other hand, the transformation of
The plant cover, which is a unity of flora and vege- city areas creates new secondary ecotopes, such as
tation, is a very important component of urban ecosys- streets, yards, and vacant lots, that allow introduced,
tems. The urban flora consists of the populations of adventive species to spread in the cities.
plant species that naturally grow in urban areas (Ilmin- Published data (Kravchenko et al., 2000) were used
skikh, 1994). The floras of cities situated in the taiga to compare the total flora and the urban flora of Karelia.
zones of the European part of Russia have been the sub- The original taxonomic list of the Karelian flora was
ject of many studies (Ignateva, 1994; Sudnitsina, modified, because the taxonomically complex poly-
1997; Popov, 1998; Uralskaya and Litvinova, 2000; morphic and collective species (e.g., Alchemilla vul-
Khmelev and Berezutskii, 2001), with the Karelian garis L. s.l., Taraxacum officinale Wigg. s.l., and
urban flora being studied most comprehensively Hieracium aggr. umbellatum L.) were considered in the
(Antipina et al., 1996; Kravchenko, 1997; Kravchenko broad sense.
and Gnatyuk, 1997; Kravchenko et al., 1998;
Dementeva, 2000; Antipina et al., 2001).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The total flora of Karelia comprises more than
MATERIALS AND METHODS 1200 species (Table 1) belonging to 370 genera,
This work deals with the results of studies on the
flora of Karelian cities situated in the middle taiga
(Petrozavodsk, Olonets, Pudozh, and Medvezhegorsk) Table 1. Some parameters of the total flora and the urban
and northern taiga (Segezha and Kostomuksha) sub- flora of Karelia
zones. Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Republic of Parameter Total flora Urban flora
Karelia, is a large city (population 282000), and the
others are smaller cities (with populations varying from Total number of species 1245 753
11000 to 35000). Petrozavodsk, Segezha, and Kosto- Aboriginal species 850 505
muksha are industrial centers. The ages of the cities
Adventive species 395 248
vary from several decades (Segezha, Medvezhegorsk,
and Kostomuksha) to several centuries (Olonets, Proportion of apophytes, percent 16.4 23.0
Petrozavodsk, and Pudozh). of aboriginal species
Karelian cities are unique in several respects: they Proportion of indigenous species, 83.6 77.0
are situated on the shores of lakes and rivers, sur- percent of aboriginal species
rounded by forests, and are blended with the natural Percentage of synanthropic species 43.1 55.9

1067-4136/03/3404-0215$25.00 2003 MAIK Nauka /Interperiodica

216 ANTIPINA
Table 2. Indices of the total flora and the urban flora of
Karelia
Index Total flora Urban flora
of synanthropic species 0.43 0.56
of adventive species 0.74 0.53
of apophytic species 0.26 0.47
Note: The index of synanthropic species is the ratio of the number
of synanthropic species to the total number of species; the
index of apophytic species is the ratio of the number of apo-
phytic species to the total number of synanthropic species;
and the index of adventive species is the ratio of the number
of adventive species to the total number of synanthropic spe-
cies (Chichev, 1981).
159 families, 108 orders, 8 classes, and 5 phyla. The
adventive-to-aboriginal species ratio is 1 : 2.2. In the
aboriginal component of Karelian flora, indigenous
species that are confined to natural ecotopes (forests,
bogs, and coasts) and do not spread to secondary habi-
tats are prevalent. The contribution of apophytic species
that spread mainly over secondary habitats is consider-
ably smaller. The synanthropic component of the flora,
i.e., the total number of adventive species and apo-
phytes, comprises more than 540 species (43%).
The urban flora of Karelia is diverse: it comprises
more than 700 species of vascular plants (about 60% of
the species of regional flora) belonging to 373 genera,
98 families, 63 orders, 8 classes, and 5 phyla. The diver-
sity of the floras of individual cities varies from 350
400 (smaller cities) to 600650 species (Petrozavodsk).
Aboriginal species are more numerous than adventive
ones (Table 1); the adventive-to-aboriginal species ratio
is 1 : 2.0. The proportions of aboriginal and adventive
species of the Karelian urban flora are the same as in the
total flora. In the urban flora, indigenous species remain
dominant, although their relative contribution into the
urban flora is lower than the contribution into the natu-
ral flora.
The proportion of synanthropic species in the urban
flora reaches 56%, and 470 out of 540 synanthropic
species of the total Karelian flora (about 90%) have
been found in cities; in other words, the concentration
of species related to economic activities is increased. In
the urban flora, the indices of synanthropic and apo-
phytic species are increased, and the index of adventive
species is decreased (Table 2). Therefore, the growth of
the synanthropic complex of urban flora is mainly
accounted for by the local apophytic species that find
favorable ecotopes in cities, rather than by introduced
species.
Note that the total area of cities (about 200
300 km2) constitutes a fraction of one percent of the
total area of Karelia (172400 km2); however, the spe-
cies diversity of the urban flora is considerable. There-
fore, the cities of the taiga zone are places of increased
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
concentration of all species constituting the regional
flora, including its synanthropic component.
The aboriginal complex of the urban flora comprises
more than 500 species (about 60% of all aboriginal spe-
cies of the Karelian flora). Some specialized species,
such as halophytes of the White Sea coast and many
bog and rock plants, are absent from the urban flora of
the cities studied. The numbers of species are the larg-
est in the families Cyperaceae, Poaceae, and Asteraceae
(in this order). In the aboriginal complex of urban flora,
these families are also the most diverse, although the
order is changed (Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, and Poaceae
rank first, second, and third, respectively). The urban
flora also retains the geographic structure of the natural
flora, with the marked prevalence of species belonging
to the boreal (mainly Eurasian and circumpolar) and
multizonal (mainly, Eurasian) geographic elements.
The structure of life forms of the aboriginal component
is also stable. Hemicryptophytic herbaceous perennials
are the dominant group, which is characteristic of the
total taiga flora. The general spectrum of the biomorphs
of the total Karelian flora is as follows: 7F + 6CH +
60HK + 19K + 8T; these parameters of urban flora dif-
fer only by a fraction of one percent.
Note that many floristic parameters of the aboriginal
fraction are preserved in the urban flora. Therefore, the
aboriginal component of the Karelian flora is highly
stable even in the anthropogenically transformed urban
environment.
Three groups of species are distinguished in the
aboriginal fraction of the floras of anthropogenically
transformed areas (Dorogostaiskaya, 1963): residual
species, which grow in cities for decades but are not
restored if they have disappeared; indifferent species;
and apophytes. Some species of Orchidaceae, Cyper-
aceae, and Ericaceae, as well as some ferns and club
mosses, are examples of the residual plant species of
Karelian cities. These plants are confined to patches of
indigenous vegetation and constitute about half of all
aboriginal species in the urban flora. They successfully
grow in cities during many decades if the natural envi-
ronment does not change. Most of the indifferent spe-
cies are meadow plants and grow mainly in meadow
spots. Apophytes actively spread in synanthropic
ecotopes, such as backyards and roadsides.
Of special interest in the aboriginal fraction of urban
flora are rare species, 39 of which have been included
into the Karelian Red Data Book (Krasnaya kniga
Karelii, 1995) and 90, into the Red Data Book of East
Fennoscandia (1998). These are Anemonoides ranun-
culoides (L.) Holub, Hypopitus monotropa Crantz, and
Veronica beccabunga L. in Petrozavodsk; Veronica
anagallis-aquatica L. in Petrozavodsk and Med-
vezhegorsk; Chamaepericlymenum suecicum (L.)
Aschers. et Graebn. in Kostomuksha and Segezha, Pin-
guicula alpina L. and Carex vulpina L. in Med-
vezhegorsk; etc. The surprising and extraordinary fact
is that populations of many species that are generally
Vol. 34 No. 4 2003
 URBAN FLORA AS A COMPONENT OF THE URBAN ECOSYSTEMS
rare in the region are preserved in a kind of refuge in
cities, under the specific conditions of anthropogeni-
cally transformed landscapes. The conservation of nat-
ural riparian, aquatic, bog, and forest plant communi-
ties as habitats of these rare species is the main prereq-
uisite for their long existence in the cities. The loss of
these plant species would impoverish the aboriginal
component and reduce the distinctiveness of Karelian
urban flora.
The adventive component of the Karelian flora com-
prises about 400 species (Table 1); and that of the Kare-
lian urban flora, about 250 species (63% of all adven-
tive plant species in Karelia). The species compositions
of the adventive component of the urban flora are very
similar in different Karelian cities, both southern and
northern; i.e., their introduced flora is being unified.
The universal set includes common introduced species
of Karelian flora, most of them are of southern origin.
Adventive species are mainly found in secondary
ecotopes, which ensure their spread; natural phyto-
cenoses have incorporated only a few species (Hera-
cleum sosnowskyi Manden, Elodea canadensis Mishx.,
Imatiens glandulifera Royle, and some others).
The family Asteraceae is well ahead of others in the
adventive Karelian flora with respect to the number of
species; it is followed by Poaceae, Brassicaceae, and
Fabaceae (in order of decreasing diversity). In the
adventive fraction of the urban flora, these families are
also the most diverse; however, their relative ranks are
different, decreasing in the following order: Asteraceae,
Brassicaceae, Poaceae, and Fabaceae. Southern and
temperate Eurasian species distinctly dominate both
total and urban floras; however, there are also southern
geographic groups that are exotic for the North, includ-
ing the American (Datura stramonium L. and Fragaria
magna Thuill.), North American (Ambrosia artemisii-
folia L., Acer negundo L., and Oenothera biennis L.),
EurasianAfrican (Borago officinalis L.), and some
other groups.
The biomorph spectrum of the adventive fraction of
the total Karelian flora is as follows: 7F + 1.3CH +
39HK + 5.3K + 6.6T/HK + 41T. In this spectrum,
therophytes (herbaceous annuals) and hemicrypto-
phytes are distinctly prevalent. This is also true of the
urban flora, whose spectrum is 10F + 1.3CH + 37HK +
3.7K + 7.3/T/HK + 41T. The contribution of phanero-
phytes into urban floras increases, which is accounted
for by feral introduced woody species. Urban areas are
characterized by the wide spread of annual plants. This
is related to their capacity for naturalization due to
intense seed reproduction and the presence of ecotopes
appropriate for their growth (vacant lots, yards, road-
sides, etc.) in cities.
Neophytes, i.e., recently introduced plants, are dras-
tically prevalent among adventive species. Some
researchers believe that archeophytes should not be dis-
tinguished as a group in the urban flora at all, because
all cities appeared within historical time (Uralskaya
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY Vol. 34 No. 4
217
and Litvinova, 2000). Among neophytes, the group of
recently introduced species that have appeared in Kare-
lian flora during the past 2025 years is the most inter-
esting. This group comprises 163 species (about 40% of
all adventive species). These species were not men-
tioned in the previous summary study on the Karelian
flora (Ramenskaya, 1983). Thus, on average, eight new
adventive species appeared in Karelia every year during
the past two decades. Ninety lately introduced species
(36% of all adventive species of urban flora) have been
detected in the urban floras studied; thus, the rate of
expansion of adventive species in the cities is four or
five species per year. Therefore, the rate of the introduc-
tion of adventive species to urban areas is lower than
the rate of their introduction to Karelia as a whole.
Therefore, in addition to the cities, there are many other
transformed ecosystems (farmlands, quarries, felling
areas, etc.) that ensure the current spread of adventive
species in Karelia.
How much time is necessary for the formation of
urban flora under conditions of the taiga zone? Kosto-
muksha, the youngest city in Karelia (its age is
20 years), is a unique object for monitoring this pro-
cess. The city is characterized by well-formed urban
flora combining the elements of natural and typically
urban floras. Therefore, 2025 years of urban develop-
ment is a sufficient period for specific urban flora to
appear in this area.
Thus, the cities in the taiga zone are areas of
increased concentration of plant species. This is related
to the heterogeneity of ecological conditions in the cit-
ies, where both natural and secondary ecotopes are
present, which allows both aboriginal and adventive
species to exist there. The aboriginal fraction of the
flora, which has been formed in this region beginning
from the early Holocene, is a stable, conserved natural
system, whose main characteristics are preserved in
urbanized areas. The adventive fraction as a dynamic
component of the flora is still in the process of forma-
tion in the cities and in Karelia as a whole. This compo-
nent has been substantially enriched (by approximately
40%) during the past 2025 years. If the rate of this pro-
cess remains the same, further increase in the range of
adventive species may be expected.
Cities of the taiga zone may serve as objects for
monitoring transformations of the flora in the urbanized
environment in the North.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am grateful to I.M. Toivonen, E.P. Gnatyuk,
O.L. Kuznetsov, and A.V. Kravchenko for their assis-
tance in this study. I thank the students of the Depart-
ment of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Ecol-
ogy and Biology, Petrozavodsk State University, who
took part in the collection of floristic materials.
2003
218 ANTIPINA
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