ADAPTIVE POTENTIAL AND PHENOTYPIC VARIABILITY OF RIBES SPECIES IN THE LOWER VOLGA REGION

Background. The climate, soil, and hydrology of the Volgograd Region complicate agricultural work. The ever-greater intensification of agriculture has brought substantial anthropogenic change upon the natural terrain in the agricultural areas of the country. Protective afforestation seeking to address soil erosion and drought, as well as the artificial selection of economically valuable species, have been the source of the most prominent change. Purpose. To evaluate the biological potential of Ribes L. species, the authors compared the development and reproductive traits, assessed the ecological flexibility of the species (an effective metric for introduction in arid regions that can be used in practice to muster biological resources and nursery work). Materials and methods. Currant populations were mainly studied by sampling population statistics and biometry, to which end the authors applied analysis of variance. Quantitative varying traits included fruiting, qualitative traits included leaf, fruit, and shoot color, and ordinal traits included bark smoothness. To evaluate the biological potential of the species Ribes aureum Pursh., the authors compared the development and reproductive traits, assessed the ecological flexibility of the species (an effective metric for introduction in arid regions that can be used in practice to muster biological resources and nursery work). Annual maturation rates of Ribes aureum Pursh. Shoots determine whether they will survive at winter. The following visual cues of maturation were used: lignification, coloring, and development of outer covers, budding, shoot growth completion, and leaf fall completion timings. Results. Currant grows in any soil, including alkaline light-chestnut soils, outcrops of bedrock ravines (Kamyshin), washed-away, eroded soils of steep slopes and ravines (Volgograd); winter hardiness depends on the natural range. Currant tends to live longer in soils most suitable for afforestation. Young shoots also differed in color. In Volgograd and its vicinity, such shoots were green (or brown), rugged. In Kamyshin, they were reddish or grayish, finely pubescent. Lamina morphometry revealed pronounced differences in lamina size and color from area to area. Conclusions. Currant species are promising shrubs that are important for forest reclamation and for nurseries. Currant plantations enrich flora and fauna as they form an ecological niche where beneficial insects, birds, mammals, and other animals can disperse, feed, or find a habitat. Currant polymorphism has an important role to play in plant evolution. It is caused by the variability of various traits in individuals of a population, which creates subspecies that are valuable for the purposes of selection and introduction. The genotype of a species determines its lamina parameters. Air temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture affect the modifiability of leaf parameters, as well as the location of leaves in the bush and on the shoots. A stable difference between lamina parameters indicates a species difference. The results hereof could be of use in the context of bioindicators of the ecological status and adaptability of currant.