The Juniperus genus L. representatives development features in extreme conditions
Increasing the dendroflora biodiversity is an urgent problem in a region with an arid climate. Solving this problem leads to the formation of a comfortable and healthy environment for the life of the population. The key stage in the dendroflora formation is the selection of plants with high rates of adaptation to these environmental conditions. The regularities of the seasonal changes rhythm, the stress factors influence on the growth, development and timing of phenophases, as well as their association with extreme values of abiotic factors determines the woody plants adaptation. The study purpose is to identify the relationship between the development of JuniperusL. and extreme environmental conditions. The study objects were the species of the Juniperus genus: J. virginiana L., J. communis L., J. sabinaL. growing in the collections of the Federal Research Center of Agroecology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (the Lower Volga Station branch for the treespecies selection). The onset of junipers phenophases was determined by the phenological observations method of the Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Characteristic of decorativeness, growth and development of three Juniperus L. species (J. sabina L., J. virginianaL., J. communis L.) in light chestnut soils conditions was carried out according to the point scale of Buchenkov I.E. and Nilova OV, the drought resistance level was determined by the method of Kotov M.M. Meteorological data for 3 years (2019-2021), the high temperatures and low precipitation influence on the growth, development and rhythm of phenological phases were analyzed. As a result of the carried studies of the conifers water- holding capacity, it was revealed that the water loss in introduced species (J. virginiana L., J. communis L.) is 2-11% higher than in the local representative (J. sabina). In a dry year (2020), all studied species had high vital indicators, were characterized by successfulЗащитное лесоразведение / Protective afforestationadaptation to extreme values of environmental factors, which may indicate prospects for use in landscaping and forest reclamation.