FLORISTIC CLASSIFICATION AND ECOLOGY OF TUNDRA VEGETATION OF THE TAYMYR PENINSULA, NORTHERN SIBERIA

A first systematic description is presented of tundra plant communities of the Taymyr Peninsula, northern Siberia, using the floristic approach of the Braun-Blanquet School. Five associations are described: 1. Carici arctisibiricae-Hylocomietum alaskanii, the main 'zonal' association, widely spread on 'plakor', i.e. flat or slightly sloping well-drained sites in the tundra zone, but absent in the polar desert zone. 2. Meesio triquetris-Caricetum stantis, typical for mire depressions throughout the tundra zone. 3. Poo arcticae-Dupontietum fisheri, found in the northern part of the typical tundra subzone on western Taymyr. 4. Gymnomitrio-Phippsietum concinnae and 5. Deschampsio-Cerastietum regelii, which occur on snowbeds with various snow duration. Within several of these associations vicariants are described. These syntaxa are only the first to be described for the Taymyr area. A complete description is still under way.