Database Report

Lower Volga Valley Phytosociological Database

Alexey Sorokin, Valentin Golub, Kseniya Starichkova, Lyudmila Nikolaychuk, Viktoria Bondareva & Tatyana Ivakhnova

GIVD Database ID: EU-RU-002	Last update: 2018-11-08
Lower Volga Valley Phytosociological Database	Web address: http://www.phytosociology.narod.ru/
Database manager(s): Alexey Sorokin (an-sorokin@yandex.ru); Valentin Golub (vbgolub2000@mail.ru)
Owner: Laboratory Phytocenology, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin of Russian Academy of Sciences
Scope: All available relevés of different classes (Charetea, Lemnetea, Ruppietea maritimae, Potametea, Phragmito-Magno-Caricetea, Isoëto-Nano-Juncetea, Crypsidetea aculeatae, Artemisietea lerchianae, Artemisietea tchernievianae, Oryzetea sativae, Chenopodietea, Secaletea, Glycyrrhizetea glabrae, Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, Thero-Salicornietea strictae, Salicornietea fruticosae, Nerio-Tamaricetea, Salicetea purpureae, Querco-Fagetea) have been collected from Volga-Akhtuba flood-plain and the Volga delta.
Abstract: The structure and content of the vegetation database of the Lower Volga Valley are characterized. The lower part of the Volga valley comprises two parts, namely, the Volga-Akhtuba flood-plain and the Volga delta. Traversing the arid Caspian lowland, the valley of the Volga lower section is remarkable for a broad variety of vegetation. All available phytosociological relevés of different classes have been collected (Charetea, Lemnetea, Ruppietea maritimae, Potametea, Phragmito-Magno-Caricetea, Isoëto-Nano-Juncetea, Crypsidetea aculeatae, Artemisietea lerchianae, Artemisietea tchernievianae, Oryzetea sativae, Chenopodietea, Secaletea, Glycyrrhizetea glabrae, Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, Thero-Salicornietea strictae, Salicornietea fruticosae, Nerio-Tamaricetea, Salicetea purpureae, Querco-Fagetea) and stored in a TurboVeg 2.88 database. Now, 13,000 of relevés are available in the database. The data are mainly used for plant cover classification and studying of vegetation dynamics.
Availability: according to a specific agreement	Online upload: no	Online search: no
Database format(s): TURBOVEG	Export format(s): TURBOVEG
Plot type(s): normal plots, time series	Plot-size range (m²): 0.15 to 2500
Non-overlapping plots: 13280	Estimate of existing plots: 15000	Completeness: 89%	Status: completed and continuing
Total no. of plot observations: 13280	Number of sources (biblioreferences, data collectors): 0	Valid taxa: 1012
Countries (%): RU: 99; KZ: 1
Formations:
Guilds: all vascular plants: 100%; bryophytes (terricolous or aquatic): 5%; lichens (terricolous or aquatic): 2%; algae (terricolous or aquatic): 3%; non-terricolous taxa (epiphytic, saxicolous, lignicolous): 1%
Plot size categories (%): < 1 m2: 0.1%; 1-10 m2: 17%; 10-100 m2: 13%; 100-1000 m2: 7%; 1000-10000 m2: 0.2%; unknowmn: 63%;
Environmental data (%): altitude: 8; slope aspect: 1; slope inclination: 1; microrelief: 34; surface cover other than plants (open soil, litter, bare rock etc.): 0; other soil attributes: 20; soil pH: 0; land use categories: 3
Performance measure(s): presence/absence only: 0%; cover: 100%; number of individuals: 0%; measurements like diameter or height of trees: 1%; biomass: 0%; other: 0%
Geographic localisation: GPS coordinates (precision 25 m or less): 15%; point coordinates less precise than GPS, up to 1 km: 85%; small grid (not coarser than 10 km): 0%; political units or only on a coarser scale ( above 10 km): 0%
Sampling periods: before 1920: 0%; 1920-1929: 2%; 1930-1939: 2%; 1940-1949: 0%; 1950-1959: 9%; 1960-1969: 3%; 1970-1979: 13%; 1980-1989: 33%; 1990-1999: 20%; 2000-2009: 5%; 2010-2019: 13%
Information as of 2026-05-19; further details and future updates available from http://www.givd.info/ID/EU-RU-002

Alexey Sorokin* (an-sorokin@yandex.ru)
Laboratory Phytocenology, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin of Russian Academy of Sciences, Komzina str. 10, 445003 Togliatti, RUSSIA
Valentin Golub (vbgolub2000@mail.ru)
Laboratory of Phytosociology, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin of Russian Academy of Sciences, Komzina str. 10, 445003 Togliatti, RUSSIA
Kseniya Starichkova (kseniya-starichkova@yandex.ru)
Laboratory of Phytosociology, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin of Russian Academy of Sciences, Komzina str. 10, 445003 Togliatti, RUSSIA
Lyudmila Nikolaychuk (vbgolub2000@mail.ru)
Laboratory of Phytosociology, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin of Russian Academy of Sciences, Komzina str. 10, 445003 Togliatti, RUSSIA
Viktoria Bondareva (victoria_bondareva@rambler.ru)
Laboratory of Phytosociology, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin of Russian Academy of Sciences, Komzina str. 10, 445003 Togliatti, RUSSIA
Tatyana Ivakhnova (aquarius_tlt@mail.ru)
Laboratory of Phytosociology, Institute of Ecology of the Volga River Basin of Russian Academy of Sciences, Komzina str. 10, 445003 Togliatti, RUSSIA
* corresponding author