TRANSFORMATION OF NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS AS A CONSEQUENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE: A CASE STUDY OF THE «KOLOBANKY» BOTANICAL RESERVE (RIVNE OBLAST, UKRAINE)

Abstract

The article is devoted to studying the transformation of the natural flora of the “Kolobanky” botanical reserve under the influence of climate change. It analyzes the ecological aspects of global climate change and its consequences for natural ecosystems, particularly wetlands. Due to climate change and alterations in the hydrological regime of the reserve, there has been a noted loss of hygrophytes, mesophytization of the wetland ecosystem, and the replacement of wetland species with meadow and invasive ones. Compared to data from ten years ago, current research reveals changes in the composition of plant communities and the degradation of populations of rare and endangered wetland species of natural flora, along with significant transformational processes occurring within the reserve. As of 2025, the territory of the reserve is overgrown with dense thickets of Cornus sanguinea L., Crataegus ucrainica A. Pojark, and Solidago canadensis L., which occupy a large area and are one of the causes of the degradation of populations of rare and endangered plant species. The area and population sizes of species such as Epipactis palustris Crantz, Cladium mariscus (L.) R. Br., Dactylorhiza incarnata (L.) Soo, and Dactylorhiza majalis (Reichenb.) P.F. Hunt et Summerhayes have significantly decreased. Moreover, the presence of Pinguicula vulgaris L. populations could not be confirmed. Conversely, the extensive spread of xeromesophilic species (Solidago canadensis L., Potentilla erecta (L.) Hampe, Poa trivialis L., P. palustris L., Eupatorium cannabinum L., etc.) and the presence of dense shrub thickets indicate a change in the hydrological regime within the reserve. The study examined the population sizes and ontogenetic spectra of rare wetland species – Epipactis palustris and Cladium mariscus. Comparative data from 2014 indicate a decline in the populations and habitat areas of these species over the past ten years.