Woody vegetation on arid Dagestan territories

The flora of Dagestan has been studied quite fully (numerous works by N.I. Kuznetsov, I.I. Tumadzhanov, Ya.I. Prokhanov, L.N. Chilikina, P.L. Lvov, etc.). At the same time, information about vegetation, including those related to arid light forests, is fragmentary and not systematized. In this article, we have made an attempt to assess the level of knowledge of woody vegetation in the arid territories of Dagestan; the results of many years of work on the altitudinal limits of their distribution, as well as the geobotanical description and classification of communities are presented. Arid light forests on the territory of Dagestan are formed by both coniferous and deciduous species. The former are represented by Juniperus oblonga M. Bieb., J. polycarpos C. Koch, J. sabina L. For Dagestan, we did not find them on the territory of the republic. Deciduous tree formations in the arid territories of Dagestan are mainly represented by the communities of the keep-tree (Paliurus spina-christi Mill.) and spirea (Spiraea hypericifolia L.). Other xerophilous tree species (Lonicera tatarica L., Cotinus coggygria Scop., some species of Rhamnus L. and Cotoneaster L., Rosa L., Celtis L., etc.) are included in other formations and do not form pure communities. Large natural massifs on the territory of Dagestan have been identified for Armeniaca vulgaris L. and species Berberis L. For the studied species of woody plants in arid territories, the habitats are marked, the areas and altitudinal limits are estimated, and the geobotanical characteristics of the communities with their participation are given.