Salt marsh vegetation of the southern tundra subzone of Western Siberia: An example of the Baydaratskaya Bay coasts in the Kara Sea

The study is focused on the description of the vegetation and the general environment all characteristics of the salt marshes along coasts in the Baydaratskaya Bay there are of the Kara Sea in the southern tundra subzone of Russian Arctic. In tidal salt marsh habitats, several successional stages and types of communities depending on part of tidal zone. The plant communities study areas located close to research stations were represented by 50 species of vascular plant, 15 mosses and 3 lichens. The coastal vegetation tends to be floristically intermediate between the species composition of typical salt marshes communities (obligate and facultative halophytes) and species from adjacent tundra plains which can be able to tolerate occasional flooding by salt water. Zonation of salt marsh vegetation and floristic diversity were compared with the data for northern area of Kara Sea coasts