Biodiversity of Terrestrial Cyanobacteria of the South Ural Region

Abstract

South Ural is a territory with a unique geographical position and heterogeneous natural conditions. Unexplored biodiversity of the terrestrial cyanobacteria of this territory is very high. We undertook a floristic study covering all botanical-geographical zones of the Bashkiria and Bredinskiy district of the Chelyabinsk region. In a total of 85 soil samples collected, 56 species of cyanobacteria were identified. The number of cyanobacteria was highest in the boreal-forest zone (39 species) and notably lower in the other zones (18, 29, and 24 species for broad-leaved forest, forest steppe and steppe regions, respectively). Leptolyngbya voronichiniana, Leptolyngbya foveolarum, cf. Trichocoleus hospitus, Pseudophormidium hollerbachianum, Nostoc cf. punctiforme, Microcoleus vaginatus, Phormidium breve, Phormidium dimorphum, Phormidium corium, and Leptolyngbya cf. tenuis were detected in all studied zones. Trichormus variabilis and Cylindrospermum majus were detected in the forest zone, Phormidium ambiguum was typical for forest-steppe and steppe zones, Pseudophormidium hollerbachianum and Nostoc cf. commune were most abundant in the steppe. Humidity and heterogeneity of the substrate were likely the most important factors influencing terrestrial cyanobacteria diversity. For full understanding of the biodiversity of cyanobacteria in the South Urals, future molecular-genetic research is necessary.