The Russian larch (Larix archangelica, Pinaceae) in the Kola Peninsula

Authors

• Mikhail N. Kozhin Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University
• Alexander N. Sennikov Botanical Museum, Finnish Museum of Natural History

Abstract

A locality of the Russian larch (Larix archangelica) was discovered in 2015 in 2.8 km from the mouth of the Malaya Kumzhevaya River (Lapponia Ponojensis) during the expedition to the southeastern coast of the Kola Peninsula. This is the second occurrence of native larch in the Kola Peninsula, which is situated in ca. 100 km westwards from its continuous range in the northeastern part of European Russia. A possible origin of this locality is considered, and the locality is treated as a relic of the formerly wider distribution in the middle Holocene. The only larch tree in this lo-cality grows in a spruce-birch herb-rich forest on drained lands between a river bank and a swamp area. The tree is part of the plant community that is classified as association Aconito septentrionalis – Piceetum obovatae Zaugolnova & Morozova 2009, subassociation filipenduletosum ulmariae Zaugolnova & Morozova 2009 (Vaccinio – Piceetea Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl., Siss. & Vlieger 1939). The conservation status of larch in Murmansk Region according to the IUCN criteria is assessed as Critically Endangered