Belarusian and Russian scientists are studying the flora of the Belarusian-Valdai Lake District

March 30, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. Scientists from Belarus and Russia are implementing a joint research project "Chorology of the Flora of the Belarusian-Valdai Lake District within Pskov, Smolensk and Vitebsk Regions," reported the head of the Department of Botany at Vitebsk State University named after P. Masherov (VSU), Leonard Merzhvinsky, to a BELTA correspondent. The main goal of the research is to study plant species and their behavior in this territory within their natural range, as well as to assess the phytocenotic role of plants that make up this community. Scientists from the V. Kuprevich Institute of Experimental Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Belarusian State University (BSU) and VSU, Vitebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine (VSAVM), and the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg) are participating in the project. The results of the research project will be of fundamental importance for the development of botanical science in Belarus and Russia, noted Leonard Merzhvinsky. In addition, a monograph based on the results of the already completed Belarusian-Russian project "Flora of the Western Dvina Basin within Belarus and Russia" is being prepared for publication. During the research, a list of higher vascular plant species within the river basin was compiled, comprising almost 1.8 thousand units, including indigenous and introduced species, as well as cultivated species grown in open ground. Also, based on the work of scientists from the V. Kuprevich Institute of Experimental Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, BSU and VSU, VSAVM, and the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, maps of the distribution of rare and protected species were created. Some border territories with high floral diversity and uniqueness have been proposed for the establishment of specially protected areas. This is of great importance for the national ecological network being formed in Belarus, emphasized Leonard Merzhvinsky. The materials obtained during the project were used in the preparation of the National Atlas of Belarus and the academic multi-volume publication "Flora of Belarus," as well as for the third edition of the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus. The collected herbarium specimens replenished the funds of the national herbarium and the collections of several scientific institutions that participated in the project. The scientific data are also important for the long-term monitoring of the flora of the river basin and for studying the resource potential of the territory. -0-