Included here is the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian far east. It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west.

Kamchatkan Alluvial Lowland Meadows

On many of the large flat river flood valleys, like those of the Bolshaja, Karymchina and Plotnikovaja in southern Kamchatka, extensive areas of alluvial soils have been created supporting diverse stands of vegetation. These usually form in a zone outside the Salix udense woodlands and represent some of the richest plant communities of kamchatka. This is no doubt partly related to fact that these meadows are thought to be of great antiquity dating back to the late Tertiary Period. Common plants of the upper field layer include several endemic or geographically restricted species such as Artemisia unalaskensis, Cirsium kamtschaticum (Asteraceae), Geranium erianthum (Geraniaceae), and Sanguisorba tenuifolium (Rosaceae). The lower layers typically include Carex longirostrata, Moehringia laterifolia, Majanthemum dilatatum and Trientalis europaea subsp. artica, while other less common plants are Agrostis trinii, Botrychium multifidum, Rumex arifolius, Trollius riederianus and the endemic Viola kamtschatica (Violaceae). On the west coast the giant, near endemic umbellifer Angelophyllum ursinum (Apiaceae) gives these meadows an eerie atmosphere. It occurs as scattered plants emerging from the other herbaceous plant layer to a height of up to 3.5 m. Shrubs and trees tend to be few and far between but may include Crataegus chlorosarca and the endemic Daphne kamtschatica (Thymelaeaceae).

References

Hulten, E. 1971. The plant cover of southern Kamchatka. Arkiv för botanik, 7: 181- 257.

Knystautas, A. 1987. The Natural History of the USSR. Century Hutchinson Ltd.

Kolbek, J., Srutek, M. & Box, E. O. 2003. Forest Vegetation in Northeast Asia. Kluwer Academic Publishers.