Long-term reaction of the plant species of four North-West Caucasus alpine communities on their transplantation to new ecological conditions

Under consideration are plant species stability in respect to their occurrence in the foreign communities, and a role of abiotic factors in development of alpine comminities. The experiment was started in 1989 on Malaya Khatipara Mt (NW Caucasus) at the altitude of 2750 m. a. s.l. included reciprocal transplantation of tussock sites between four alpine communities. Significant changes in the tussock composition were observed due to better or worse acclimation of particular species, due to lost of some species, and because of invasion of aboriginal species from the surroundings into the transplanted sites. The most species involved appeared to be stable in respect to transplantations and some of them even better developed under new ecological conditions, the latter case indicating lack of coincidence of the aut- and sinecological optima.