Biodiversity of high-mountain woody plants in the Eastern Carpathians in Ukraine – continuation

The subalpine and alpine vegetation belts in the mountains are formed by plants adapted to harsh environmental conditions. In Central and Southern Europe, these types of vegetation have developed mainly in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the highest massifs of the Carpathians, and in the mountains of Balkan, Apennine, and Iberian Peninsulas. However, in the Eastern Carpathians in Ukraine, only a few massifs are sufficiently high for subalpine and alpine vegetation to develop. The aim of the present study was to verify the hypothesis that woody plant species frequently occurring in the subalpine and alpine vegetation belts in Ukraine, predominantly grow in the Chornohora, the Marmarosh-Chyvchyny ranges along the border with Romania, also in the Svydovets and Gorgany massifs. To test this hypothesis, we continued studies on the distribution of woody species. The results clearly indicate that the highest and most extensive mountain massifs of the Carpathians in Ukraine are the main centers of occurrence for subalpine and alpine species. Among the subalpine and alpine woody species are a few Carpathian endemics. Prevail the Central European mountain species, and arctic-alpine species reaching their southernmost, or at least near-southern distribution limits. Subalpine and alpine woody species in Ukraine are very rare and valuable components of the Ukrainian vascular flora. Alpine vegetation with typically alpine woody species is restricted to only the highest peaks of the Chornohora, Svydovets, Chyvchyny, and Gorgany mountains and is at risk of extinction due to climate change. This threat mainly concerns species known from only a single locality.