Included here are the Altai Mountains, the Sayan Mountains, the Salair Ridge, the Khangai Plateau, montane Shoria, the Minusinsk Basin and the Khamar-Daban Range.

Altai-Sayan Abies sibirica-Betula pendula Wet Taiga

Confined to the relatively warm, high precipitation areas such as north and central Western Sayan, these forests are largely confined to lower slopes and river valleys. Abies sibirica often comprises up to 60% of the canopy layer and in addition to Betula pendula, Pinus obovata and Pinus sibirica are often present, while Sorbus sibirica is a typical subcanopy species. The shrub layer has variable cover and is often dominated by Duschekia fruticosa, while less common shrubs are Ribes spicatum and Sambucus sibirica. The herb layer, however, is species-rich and often dense with up to 90% land cover, and typically dominated by tall ferns such as Athyrium filix-femina, Diplazium sibiricum, Dryopteris expansa and Matteuccia struthiopteris and the tall grass Calamagrostis obtusata. A lower herb layer is often dominated by Carex pediformis, while others include Aquilegia sibirica, Atragene sibirica, Lactuca sibirica, Poa sibirica and the endemic or near endemic Anemonoides altaica (Ranunculaceae) and Euphorbia alpina (Euphorbiaceae). Several of these species are also common to other local conifer forests.

References

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

Konig, P. & Rilke, S. 2004. Vegetation patterns within a thermokarst landscape in the central Altay Mountains (West Siberia). Feddes Repertorium, 115: 574-584.

Neuffer, B., Oyuntsetseg, B., Schamsran, Z., Friesen, N. &  Hurka, H. 2003. Contribution to the knowledge of the flora of the Mongolian Altai. Feddes Repertorium, 114: 358-371.

Nikolai Ermakov, Novosibirsk. 1998. The Altaian relict subnemoral forest belt and vegetation of pre-Pleistocene mountainous landscapes. Phytocoenologia, 28: 31-44.

Pyak, A. I., Shaw, S. C., Ebel, A. L., Zverev, A. A., Hodgson, J. G., Wheeler, B. D., Gaston, K. J., Morenko, M. O., Revushkin, A. S., Kotukhov, Yu. A. & Oyunchimeg, D. 2008. Endemic Plants of the Altai Mountain Country. WildGuides Ltd, Hampshire, UK.

Vlasenko, V. & Parfenova, E. 2005. Biodiversity of Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve. Ekologia-Bratislava, 24: 80-88.