Vol.4, No.5, 271-275 (2012) Natural Science doi:10.4236/ns.2012.45039 Paragenese of the vegetation in ecosystems contact zones (in Lake Baikal basin) Alexander Sizykh 1* , Victor Voronin 1 , Michail Azovsky 2 , Svetlana Sizykh 3 1 Siberian Institute of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, Russia; * Corresponding Author: alexander_sizykh@yahoo.com 2 Institute of Geochemistry, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Irkutsk, Russia 3 Botanic Garden, Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk, Russia Received 4 May 2011; revised 12 June 2011; accepted 2 July 2011 ABSTRACT Taking into account climate dynamics, forecasting be- comes an essential aim of studies of processes of prob- able changes in the vegetation at vast territories. Any forecast requires complete information on actual state and ancient changes in vegetation characteristic for the period of formation of its main structural and dynamical parameters. Forecasts are hypotheses of long-term vege- tation transformations for actual natural conditions of a concrete territory, and even more for changing environ- ment. Phytocenoses in the ecosystems contact zones are characterized by a rather complex structural and dynamical more than one features and by specific development characters under definite physical and geographical conditions. Unlike zonal vegetation, such phytocenoses respond to all environment changes more rapidly. The struc- ture of such phytocenoses allows to determine the way this or that scenarios of climate change would develop at any level of more than one ecosystems. A possibility to use the notion “paragenese” for characterization of phytoce- noses under contrast conditions is considered. Paragenese is the development of phytocenoses which are not related to zonal vegetation types by their composition and structure. Probably, the communities from ecosystems contact zones are to be related to a particular “type” of vegeta- tion. Phytocenoses in the contact of light coni- ferous taiga and extrazonal steppes, as well as relations between zonal forest-steppe at main areas of Lake Baikal basin served as examples for justification of use of the notion “parage- nese” to characterize the development of such communities. A part of such forecasts is modeling of vegetation suc- cessions given the existing dynamics of landscape-form- ing factors. The obtaining of fundamental information for forecasts is possible by establishment of a network of model territories showing real structural and dynamical features of definite environments as they are understood presently [1-3], as well as features of intrazonal and in- terzonal environment differences. The vegetation of model territories can serve as a succession system re- flecting all possible states of communities at actual end- oecogenesis and exoecogenesis of vegetation at a con- crete territory. Models can be a base for obtaining information that allows correction of existing successions schemes not only for zonal vegetation, but also for phytocenoses of transitional territories. Moreover, phytocenoses in eco- systems contact zones reflect all changes of the back- ground climate dynamics more rapidly than zonal vege- tation as it is understood nowadays. Due to this, other information base appears for theoretical hypotheses con- cerning age, place and role of basic or transitional com- munities in successional systems at any climate changes. Consequently, such information will be a basis for a long- term forecast of any vegetation changes. Keywords: Paragenese; Phytocenoses; Lake Baikal Basin; Ecosystems 1. INTRODUCTION Paragenese is forming the plant communities inside of the zonal vegetation but they are very distinctive by struc- ture and dynamics from zonal plant communities. We belive papagenese is a phenomenon which can serve as a base in the studies of plants species biology, of phyto- cenoses ecology, and of genesis of the whole environ- ment. 2. BACKGROUND Zonal and altitude-zonal differentiation of environ- mental parameters determines forms and types of changes in formation of vegetation of any hierarchy. Under dyna- Copyright © 2012 SciRes. Openly accessible at http://www.scirp.org/journal/ns/