BOTANICAL BOUNDARY BETWEEN FOREST STEPPE AND THE CARPATHIANS AND ITS IMPACT ON FORMING FOREST VEGETATION OF THE DROHOBYCH HIGHLAND ; БОТАНІЧНА МЕЖА МІЖ ЛІСОСТЕПОМ І КАРПАТАМИ ТА ЇЇ ВПЛИВ НА ФОРМУВАННЯ ЛІСОВОЇ РОСЛИННОСТІ ДРОГОБИЦЬКОЇ ВИСОЧИНИ

The location of the territory of Ukraine within the limits of several physical and geographical zones determines the high level of its biodiversity. At the same time, the biotic characteristics of some natural zones are too complex for explication, since in many cases the "boundary effect" triggered by the influence of neighboring regions works. The authors have recorded a similar fact at the Drohobych Highland in the transition area of the natural forest steppe zone in the mountainous country of the Ukrainian Carpathians. The purpose of our work was to study in detail flora and vegetation of the transitional band between the forest steppe and the Carpathians. A forest-steppe zone is a lower vegetation belt in the north-eastern mega slope of the Carpathians due to bordering with the forest-steppe from the east. Therefore, a logical question arose: where exactly is the boundary between the forest-steppe and the Carpathians and which types of phytocoenoses are characteristic of the natural forest-steppe zone, and which – for the mountainous Carpathian country. The object of our research was forest vegetation of Drohobych Forestry State Enterprise of Volya Yakubova Forestry. The natural conditions of the Carpathian Mountains caused the formation of forests of diverse composition and productivity. In order to obtain the most accurate results, we have applied various methods of vegetation studies based on the principles of dominant, forest-typological and ecological-floristic geobotanical schools, with their subsequent comparison. According to the dominant classification, the natural forest zone of the forest-steppe is represented by Quercetum roboris caricosum brizoidi, Q. r. c. remotae, Q. r. filipendulosum, Carpineto-Quercetum roboris caricosum pilosae, C.-Q. r. c. brizoidi, C.-Q. r. rubosum сaesii. Instead, the mountainous Carpathian country is characterized by the association of Abieto-Querceta roboris caricosum brizoidi. These findings are also confirmed by the syntaxonomy of vegetation based on floral grounds, ...