Biodiversity Data Journal :
Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Corresponding author: Nadiia Skobel (skobel2015@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Dmitry Schigel
Received: 19 Dec 2022 | Accepted: 20 Jan 2023 | Published: 01 Feb 2023
© 2023 Nadiia Skobel, Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Iwona Dembicz, Maria Zachwatowicz, Maryna Zakharova, Oleksii Marushchak, Vikroria Dzerkal
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Skobel N, Moysiyenko I, Sudnik-Wójcikowska B, Dembicz I, Zachwatowicz M, Zakharova M, Marushchak O, Dzerkal V (2023) Vascular plants of old cemeteries in the Lower Dnipro region (Southern Ukraine). Biodiversity Data Journal 11: e99004. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e99004
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The dataset contains the records of vascular plant species occurrences and distribution in old cemeteries (OC) of the Lower Dnipro region (Southern Ukraine). The analysed cemeteries were located in different types of landscapes (agricultural, rural and urban) and represent various ways of using their area (currently used, closed, abandoned). The floristic list includes 440 species of vascular plants (437 in situ, 3 ex situ). The dataset demonstrates a sozological (Red-lists species) value of old cemeteries in Southern Ukraine. The cemeteries constitute refuges of native, rare and steppe flora and play a role of steppe habitat islands in a landscape almost completely transformed to arable land or urbanised.
This is the first dataset which contains information about flora of old cemeteries in Lower Dnipro region (Southern Ukraine). The dataset comprises 2118 occurrences of vascular plants (440 species) recorded in the years 2008-2021 in 13 old cemeteries of the Lower Dnipro region. The dataset includes information about 85 occurrences of rare species (23 species in situ, 3 ex situ) and 652 occurrences of 117 steppe species.
occurrence, refuge of steppe flora, floristic richness, grass steppe, Kherson Region, Ukraine.
In recent centuries, anthropogenic activities led to significant losses of natural habitats, globally (
The studies performed in different regions have recognised the natural values of cemeteries (e.g.
Using the term ‘old cemetery’, we refer to the European Landscape Convention (
One of the problems of the natural and cultural heritage conservation of old cemeteries is the fact that still none of the old cemeteries of Lower Dnipro region is included in the register of monuments of Ukraine. Thus, many of them could be neglected and destroyed (
Our field investigations, in the years of: 2007-2017 and 2020-2021, showed the capacity and value of old cemeteries for biodiversity conservation. The flora of the investigated old cemeteries included 440 taxa of vascular plants. The total number of occurrences was 2118. Amongst the recorded taxa, numerous were protected and Red-listed plant species (recorded in the Red Data Book of Ukraine,
The floristic data, collected in the old cemeteries (OC) were compiled into a dataset. We used the dataset to achieve the following goals:
Northern Eurasia 2022
Nadiia Skobel, Ivan Moysiyenko
The collecting of floristic data, field investigations and further data analysis were supported by the project:
‘How the East was won: Towards an environmental history of the Eurasian steppe’ N 2012-06112.
We are also grateful to the ‘Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (FinBIF)’ for the call for authors in the project ‘Northern Eurasia 2022’ The data processing and publication were funded by the NCN scholarship programme for Ukrainian students and young researchers nr 2021/01/4/NZ9/00078 in collaboration with the University of Warsaw (N.S.).
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The area of the old cemeteries of the Kherson Region varies from 0.43 ha to 10.45 ha. The total area of all old cemeteries is 51.28 ha (Fig.
№ | Name of the cemetery* |
Location | Year of establishment | Area (ha) | Landscape type* |
Way of using of the cemetery* |
1 | Kherson Old Jewish cemetery | Kherson, the capital of the region | 1870 | 2.58 | U | Cl |
2 | Kherson Zabalka cemetery | Kherson, the capital of the region | 18-19th century | 9.49 | U | Cl |
3 | Kherson Memorial cemetery | Kherson, the capital of the region | 1780 | 10.45 | U | Cl |
4 | Ekonomiia Ivanivka | Kherson Region, Beryslav District | 1855-1865 | 0.43 | A | Ab |
5 | Kurgan near khutir Balakshova | Kherson Region, Beryslav District | 1855-1865 | 0.7 | A | Ab |
6 | Dolmativka | Kherson Region, Skadovsk District, v. Dolmativka | 1850-1855 | 3.17 | R | Cu |
7 | Nyzhni Torhai | Kherson Region, Henichesk District, v. Nyzhni Torhai | 1840 | 1.1 | R | Cu |
8 | Poniativka | Kherson Region, Kherson District, v. Poniativka | 1780 | 1.1 | R | Cu |
9 | Posad-Pokrovske | Kherson Region, Kherson District, v. Posad-Pokrovske | 1789 | 3.6 | R | Cu |
10 | Stanislav | Kherson Region, Kherson District, v. Stanislav | 1697 | 6.79 | R | Cu |
11 | Tokarivka | Kherson Region, Kherson District, v. Tokarivka | 1780 | 2.81 | A | Cu |
12 | Tryfonivka | Kherson Region, Beryslav District, v. Tryfonivka | 1863 | 3.2 | R | Cu |
13 | Tiahynka | Kherson Region, Beryslavsky District, v. Tiahynka | 1778 | 5.86 | R | Cu |
The basic parameters characterising the flora of old cemeteries in Lower Dnipro Region.
Characteristic of flora of investigated old cemeteries (OC) |
The type of landscape in which the examined old cemeteries are located |
Way of using of the cemetery area |
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Agricultural landscape |
Rural landscape |
Urban landscape |
Abandoned OC |
Closed OC |
Current used OC |
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Number of investigated OC |
3 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
Total number of species |
229 |
360 |
228 |
154 |
360 |
369 |
Mean number of species per OC |
126 |
166 |
190 |
107 |
166 |
165 |
Minimum and maximum number of species per OC |
104-164 |
143-217 |
173-202 |
104-110 |
143-217 |
143-217 |
Number of OC with more than 150 species |
1 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
Number of OC with more than 200 species |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Number of native species |
158 (69%) |
226 (63%) |
115 (50.4%) |
112 (72.7%) |
226 (63%) |
235 (63.6%) |
Number of steppe species |
69 (30.1%) |
96 (26.7%) |
34 (15%) |
42 (27.7%) |
96 (26.7%) |
103 (27.9%) |
Number of rare species in situ |
16 (7%) |
16 (4.4%) |
10 (4.4%) |
8 (5.1%) |
16 (4.4%) |
18 (4.8%) |
Number of rare species ex situ |
2 (0.8%) |
3 (0.8%) |
1 (0.4%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (0.8%) |
3 (0.8%) |
№ | Name of the cemetery* |
TNoS* |
NoNS* |
NoSS* |
NoRS (RDBU)* |
NoRS (KRRL)* |
NoAS* |
NoEg* |
DSS (km)* |
1 | Kherson Old Jewish cemetery | 195 | 102 | 29 | 1 | 4 | 93 | 19 | 5.38 |
2 | Kherson Zabalka cemetery | 173 | 93 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 80 | 16 | 6.7 |
3 | Kherson Memorial cemetery | 202 | 103 | 29 | 0 | 7 | 99 | 23 | 5.13 |
4 | Ekonomiia Ivanivka | 110 | 78 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 32 | 5 | 13.73 |
5 | Kurgan near khutir Balakshova | 104 | 80 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 13.55 |
6 | Dolmativka | 148 | 99 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 49 | 10 | 1.8 |
7 | Nyzhni Torhai | 144 | 90 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 54 | 11 | 2.84 |
8 | Poniativka | 143 | 84 | 25 | 2 | 4 | 59 | 14 | 1.2 |
9 | Posad-Pokrovske | 173 | 96 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 77 | 16 | 14.8 |
10 | Stanislav | 183 | 109 | 38 | 5 | 6 | 74 | 17 | 1.33 |
11 | Tokarivka | 164 | 114 | 48 | 2 | 7 | 50 | 12 | 0.2 |
12 | Tryfonivka | 155 | 101 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 54 | 12 | 10.7 |
13 | Tiahynka | 217 | 136 | 54 | 5 | 6 | 81 | 19 | 0.7 |
Location of old cemeteries. Abbreviations: 1 – Kherson Old Jewish cemetery; 2 - Kherson Zabalka cemetery; 3 – Kherson Memorial cemetery; 4 - Ekonomiia Ivanivka; 5 - Kurgan near khutir Balakshova; 6 – Dolmativka; 7 - Nyzhni Torhai; 8 – Poniativka; 9 - Posad-Pokrovske; 10 – Stanislav; 11 – Tokarivka; 12 – Tryfonivka; 13 – Tiahynka.*
Satellite images of different types of landscape at the old cemeteries. Abbreviations: a – urban (1 – Kherson Old Jewish cemetery; 2 – Kherson Zabalka cemetery, 3 - Kherson Memorial cemetery); b – rural landscape (1 – Poniativka; 2 - Tokarivka; 3 - Tiahynka), c - agricultural landscape (1 - Kurgan near khutir Balakshova; 2 - Ekonomiia Ivanivka).
We were guided by the following criteria for selecting old cemeteries for research:
a) the establishment of the old cemetery in the areas covered by steppe sites (cemeteries established by the beginning of the 20th century and earlier). There is no register of old cemeteries available in Ukraine. By this reason, we used literature sources (
b) the presence of preserved steppe sites of more than 10 m2 (within the cemetery area and around it).
c) the presence of rare plant species and plant communities.
All analysed cemeteries are located in different types of landscapes: agricultural, rural and urban (Fig.
Rural cemeteries are located in villages, within rural landscapes. Rural landscape describes the diverse portion of the nation's land area not densely populated or intensively developed and not set aside for preservation in a natural state. Rural landscapes have differences in comparison with urban; as rule in rural, they have less anthropogenic territories and activities, while agricultural cemeteries are located in agricultural landscape between ploughed areas of fields. Agricultural landscape features (or henceforward simply landscape features) are small fragments of non-productive natural or semi-natural vegetation in an agricultural landscape which provide ecosystem services and support for biodiversity (
a) currently used OC – intensive land use (burials, intensive planting, intensive care of graves, littering, possible grazing, absence of mowing);
b) closed OC – medium land use intensity (burials not performed, medium planting, medium care of graves, possible littering, possible grazing, possible mowing);
c) abandoned OC – relatively medium/low land use intensity (burials not performed, low planting, possible care of graves, low littering, possible grazing, possible mowing).
As rural and agricultural cemeteries were often anonymous, we called them according to the name of the nearest village or historical place (in case the nearest village was absent).
Each old cemetery was examined at least three times during the growing season (spring, summer and autumn) using the route-field method. The floristic lists were collected. We determined the abundance of individual species according to a simple 3-point scale, where 1 means - single occurrence, 2 - several localities, 3 - quite common species within the site. The identification of vascular plant species was held in the field. Specimens that could not be identified in the field were collected to the Kherson State University Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Environmental Protection. The floristic lists were the subject to further analysis (
The collective list of old cemeteries flora includes 437 species in situ and three rare species ex situ (i.e. native plants which escaped cultivation after they were intentionally brought to the cemetery). The species cultivated on graves, which have not gone wild, were not included in the species lists.
The collected materials were verified in the Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Environmental Protection (Department of Botany, KSU) and Herbarium of Kherson State University (KHER,
The following steps were taken:
The floristic research was carried out on 13 old cemeteries in the Lower Dnipro Province, Kherson Region. According to the administrative and territorial division, the examined cemeteries are located in the Beryslav, Henichesk, Skadovsk and Kherson Districts and in the city of Kherson.
The Lower Dnipro region is represented by classes of steppe vegetation (
The land-surface is almost flat. The Dnipro floodplain is densely cut by numerous straits and branches. Regarding the geobotanical zoning, the Lower Dnipro region is located in three districts of the Black Sea and Azov steppe sub-province of the Pontic steppe province of the steppe zone: a) Bug-Ingul District of grasses, grass meadows and vegetation of limestone outcrops; b) Lower Dnipro region of sand steppes, sands and reed beds; c) Dnipro-Azov District of grasses, wormwood-grass steppes and depression (pid – in Ukrainian) meadows (
46.134 and 47.48 Latitude; 31.904 and 35.057 Longitude.
The Scientic Names of species are given in Latin according to Vascular Plants of Ukraine, a nomenclatural checklist (
Rank | Scientific Name |
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kingdom | Plantae |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 Licence.
The dataset includes a table with 29 fields in Darwin Core terms and 2118 records in it (
Column label | Column description |
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occurrenceID | An identifier of a particular occurrence, unique within this dataset. We used the species occurrence numbers. |
scientificName | The original names according to ‘Vascular Plants of Ukraine, a nomenclatural checklist’ (Mosyakin, Fedoronchuk 1999), corrected for spelling mistakes using GBIF Species Matching tool. |
eventDate | The date-time or interval during which an Event occurred. |
basisOfRecord | The method in which data were acquired (HumanObservation). |
geodeticDatum | The geodetic datum upon which the geographic coordinates are given. In our case, it is always WGS84. |
georeferencedBy | Theperson who determined the georeference. |
georeferenceProtocol | A description of the method used to determine coordinates (Manual with Google Earth). |
recordedBy | The persons who is responsible for recording the original Occurrence. |
identifiedBy | The persons who is responsible for recording the Taxon to the subject. |
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres | The distance (in metres) from the given decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the Location (from 43 m to 278 m). |
geoReferenceRemarks | Notes about the spatial description determination, explaining assumptions made in addition or opposition to the those formalised in the method referred to in georeferenceProtocol (describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the Location (from 43 m to 278 m). |
decimalLatitude | The geographic latitude in decimal degrees. |
decimalLongitude | The geographic longitude in decimal degrees. |
organismQuantity | A number or enumeration value for the quantity of organisms. Estimated according to a 3-point scale: 1 – sporadic, 2 – fairly frequent, 3 – common. |
organismQuantityType | The type of quantification system used for the quantity of organisms. We used a 3-point scale. |
samplingProtocol | The names of the method used during an Event (Species Shoot Presence). |
countryCode | The standard code for the country in which the Location occurs. In our case, it is always UA. |
country | The name of the country unit in which the Location occurs. In our case, it is always Ukraine. |
stateProvince | The name of the administrative region of Ukraine in which the Location occurs. In our case, it is always Kherson. |
county | The full, unabbreviated name of the next smaller administrative region than stateProvince (districts). |
locality | The specific description of the place. The nearest village and name of cemetery or official name of cemetery. |
taxonRank | The taxonomic rank of the most specific name in the scientificName. |
kingdom | The full scientific name of the kingdom in which the taxon is classified. In our case, it is always Plantae. |
phylum | The full scientific name of the phylum or division in which the taxon is classified. In our case, it is always Tracheophyta. |
class | The full scientific name of the class in which the taxon is classified. In our case, it is Magnoliopsida, Liliopsida, Gnetopsida. |
order | The full scientific name of the order in which the taxon is classified. In our case, it is Asterales, Lamiales, Caryophyllales etc. (fig. 5; Taxonomic distribution of occurrences). |
family | The full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified (fig. 5 Taxonomic distribution of occurrences). |
recordedByID | A list of the globally unique identifiers for the people responsible for recording the original Occurrence. |
identifiedByID | A list (concatenated and separated) of the globally unique identifiers for the people responsible for assigning the Taxon to the subject. |
We identified 437 (+3 ex situ) taxa of vascular plants in 13 old cemeteries, which make up 8.5% of the total flora of Ukraine (
The total species richness ranged from 104 to 217 (162 species per one cemetery in average). Old cemeteries in different types of landscape show different values of floristic richness.
We noticed differences in floristic richness depending on cemetery size (Fig.
At the same time, although Kherson city's old cemeteries are covering larger areas (6.5 ha on average) compared to cemeteries located in other types of landscape (2.8 ha on average), they are poorer regarding species diversity and more homogenous (floristically similar to each other – they share 125 species, 55%). This is due to anthropogenic impacts occurring in the City, the similar exotic species occurrences and the relatively small distances between cemeteries in the City (the distance between cemeteries located in Kherson City is ca. 2.5 km, while, for rural landscapes, this value ranges from 1.5 km to 140.5 km).
The way of using cemeteries’ areas affects their floristic diversity. Currently, used cemeteries are richer in species and more diverse than abandoned ones, because human activities (burials, ornamental species introductions etc.) usually contribute to the short-term emergence of random species (
The location of the cemetery in a more or less transformed landscape significantly influences its flora. Old cemeteries in the city of Kherson (urban landscape) are characterised by high shares of alien species, compared to old cemeteries in rural and agricultural areas. It can be explained by the specific, anthropogenic impacts. Human activities in the cities result in a high input of propagules and, in consequence, also in a significant number of alien species (
The flora of investigated old cemeteries has a significant share of plants escaping from cultivation (
The absence of ornamental plants can impact on the more natural vegetation in cemeteries. Given that ornamental plants are often cultivated on graves, their shares in the cemetery's flora is sometimes high and, thus, the risk of plant invasions is also high for this type of habitat. In such conditions, many sensitive native species, especially steppe species, are unable to compete with more successful non-native plants (
From the perspective of preservation of a natural vegetation cover, widespread cultivation of plants in cemeteries has two consequences. Wild non-native plants show a negative effect by competing with local plants. In particular, large areas of neglected cemeteries are occupied by shrubs (e.g. Syringa vulgaris, Ailanthus altissima, Lycium barbatum). Some native woody plants (trees, such as: Fraxinus excelsior, Quercus robur and shrubs, such as Ligustrum vulgare) are native, but not characteristic of the steppe vegetation and are also cultivated in cemeteries and escape from cultivation. They may have a negative impact on steppe vegetation in cemeteries and in their vicinity (
Most of the species (42%) appeared only in 1-2 cemeteries (Fig.
The total flora of old cemeteries by frequency classes (percentage of species in each category is indicated). Frequency classes: I – rare (1–2 cemeteries), II – relatively rare (3–4 cemeteries), III – not rare (5–6 cemeteries), IV – relatively frequent (7–9 cemeteries), V – common (10–13 cemeteries).
The majority of species (99.8%) belong to Magnoliophyta division (Fig.
The most represented families of class Magnoliophyta in the old cemeteries flora are: Asteraceae, Poaceae and Fabaceae. These families are also well represented in the flora of Ukraine and within the flora of kurgans (
The significant shares of native plants indicate a high level of preservation of vegetation in old cemeteries (Fig.
Individual old cemeteries in urban landscape (nos. 1, 2 and 3) are also closed cemeteries. They all show a much smaller share of native species than old cemeteries in agricultural and rural landscapes. The three cemeteries richest in native species are located amongst fields, two of them being abandoned (nos. 4 and 5) and one (no. 11) is still in use (Fig.
According to the geobotanical division of the Eurasian Steppe Zone, the Lower Dnipro region is located in the Black Sea and Azov sub-province of the Pontic steppe province. The steppe physiognomy in the region is determined by tussock grasses of the genera Stipa, Festuca, Koeleria and Agropyron (
The old cemeteries of the Lower Dnipro region preserve steppe vegetation. Steppe vegetation can be preserved only at cemeteries historically located on unploughed parts of the steppe. If the newly-created cemeteries are located in a heavily transformed habitat, the chances of survival for steppe species are much lower.
Lower Dnipro region represented by classes of steppe vegetation (
Helianthemo-Thymetea Romaschenko, Didukh et V. Sl. was used for species that have an optimum occurrence on limestone outcrops, which are present in the Kherson Region and are represented by the diagnostic species Achillea leptophylla M.Bieb., Euphorbia glareosa M.Bieb. and Thymus dimorphus Klokov & Des.-Shost. Festucetea vaginatae Soó ex Vičherek was used for species that have optimal occurrence on psamopthytic steppes, which are present in the Kherson Region and are represented by the diagnostic species Astragalus varius S.G.Gmel., Erophila verna (L.) DC., Euphorbia seguierana Neck, Gypsophila paniculata L. and Helichrysum arenarium (L.) Moench.
Representatives of dianostic species of these classes have the status of specialists – typical ‘steppe species’, all other species being general specialist or ’non-steppe species’. At old cemeteries of the Lower Dnipro region, we identified 117 steppe specialіsits and 320 generalists.
As in the case of native species, the poorest in steppe species turned out to be closed urban cemeteries (nos. 1, 2 and 3). On the other hand, the largest share of steppe species was found for three cemeteries, two of which were mid-field (nos. 5 and 11) and one was rural (no. 13). Of these, one was abandoned and the rest are still in use (Fig.
The steppe species richness of the investigated old cemeteries is related to their location in the landscape. The old cemeteries in agricultural and rural landscapes are richer in ‘steppe species’ compared to the urban landscape type (Fig.
In the V class of frequency (present at 10-13 old cemeteries) and also in typical “steppe species” Agropyron pectinatum (M.Bieb.) P.Beauv., Carduus uncinatus M.Bieb., Carex stenophylla Wahlenb., Festuca valesiaca Guadin, Koeleria cristata (L.) Pers., Potentilla recta L., Ranunculus oxyspermus M.Bieb., Stipa capillata L., Taraxacum erythrospermum Andrz. and Vinca herbacea Waldst. et Kit. occurred.
The Lower Dnipro region has a traditional custom of planting the ornamental steppe plants on the graves. Such plants often ‘escape’ and start growing spontaneously (e.g. Stipa capillata L., Ficaria calthifolia Rchb., Iris pumila L, Ornithogalum kochii Parl., Vinca herbacea Waldst. & Kit. and Viola odorata L.). Some other beautiful flowering local plants are not planted near the graves, but appear there spontaneously and are not destroyed during the clearing of the graves from ’weeds’ (e.g. Asparagus officinalis L., Potentilla recta L. and Salvia nemorosa L; (
Under the conditions of human pressure on the natural vegetation, it is particularly important to ensure the protection of rare species and their diversity. The old cemeteries of the Lower Dnipro region preserve rare steppe species that have survived in situ for centuries. It was possible because the burial places in Ukraine are held in esteem and the maintenance activities are traditional, limited to the care of graves. One of the indicators of the conservation value of old cemeteries is the share of rare species (sozophytes) in their flora (
The dataset includes information on 26 rare species in old cemeteries (5.2%). The cemeteries are usually small in size and isolated by agricultural, rural or urban areas around them (Fig.
Six vascular plant species are included in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (
The flora of the old cemeteries includes Betula borysthenica Klokov, which was cultured and released, whereas Paeonia tenuifolia L., which is included in the Red Data Book of Ukraine (
The sozophytes identified in the old cemeteries represented 19 families. The species represented the class Magnoliophyta (only one species belonged to the class Pinophyta). The most frequent rare species in old cemeteries were: Stipa capillata L., and Vinca herbacea Waldst. et Kit. The shares of rare species in old cemeteries varied from 1.7% (Posad- Pokrovske) to 6% (Stanislav).
The presence of typical steppe species and the large shares of native species compared to the aliens, indicate a relatively good state of preservation of steppe vegetation in old cemeteries in the Lower Dnipro region. The preservation of the natural vegetation cover in cemeteries is supported by the sacred status of cemeteries that are places where economic activities are not allowed. The old cemeteries can play an important role as places for protection of the steppe phytodiversity and provide the prospect of future activities for the local renewal of the steppe.
However, there are a number of adverse anthropogenic factors regarding old cemeteries that often reduce local steppe biodiversity. This is not only vandalism, but also the activities related with the care of graves (e.g. the removal of plant cover around graves or introduction of imported exotic, ornamental plants).
Taking the above into account, there is an urgent need for research on old cemeteries flora and its monitoring, as well as for creating nature reserves (in some of them), preserving their natural values.
The authors express their gratitude to: Polina Dayneko for advice about cultural heritage objects and data cleaning of list of species. Oleh Prylutskyi for consultations and valuable advice on creating datasets. NGO «Ukraine Inkognita» and Roman Malenkov and Valeriy Malyna for help with historical value of Ukrainian old cemeteries and help with literature sources. Nadiia Skobel was supported by NCN scholarship programme for Ukrainian students and young researchers (nr. 2021/01/4/NZ9/00078). We also thank Dr. Robert Mesibov, who helped to greatly improve our dataset. Finally, we also thank the reviewers for the сritical evaluation of our manuscript, their relevant comments and suggestions.
Conceptualisation: Nadiia Skobel, Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Maria Zachwatowicz, Iwona Dembicz, Maryna Zakharova. Data collecting, organising and curation: Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Maria Zachwatowicz, Iwona Dembicz, Nadiia Skobel, Maryna Zakharova, Viktoria Dzerkal. Dataset organising in terms of the GBIF platform: Nadiia Skobel, Oleksii Marushchak, Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska. Formal analysis and investigation: Nadiia Skobel, Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Maria Zachwatowicz, Iwona Dembicz. Resources: Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Maria Zachwatowicz, Iwona Dembicz, Nadiia Skobel, Maryna Zakharova, Viktoria Dzerkal. Supervision: Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Maria Zachwatowicz, Iwona Dembicz, Nadiia Skobel. Validation: Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Iwona Dembicz, Maria Zachwatowicz, Nadiia Skobel. Visualisation: Nadiia Skobel, Ivan Moysiyenko. Writing—original draft and Writing—review & editing: Nadiia Skobel, Ivan Moysiyenko, Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska, Maria Zachwatowicz, Iwona Dembicz, Oleksii Marushchak, Maryna Zakharova. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
As cemeteries in villages did not have a name, we called them according to the nearest villages or historical place, in case absent the nearest village. Abbreviations: 1 – Kherson Old Jewish cemetery; 2 - Kherson Zabalka cemetery; 3 – Kherson Memorial cemetery; 4 - Ekonomiia Ivanivka; 5 - Kurgan near khutir Balakshova; 6 – Dolmativka; 7 - Nyzhni Torhai; 8 – Poniativka; 9 - Posad-Pokrovske; 10 – Stanislav; 11 – Tokarivka; 12 – Tryfonivka; 13 – Tiahynka.
Abbreviations: TNoS - Total number of species; NoNS - Number of native species; NoSS - Number of steppe species; NoRS (RDBU) - Number of rare species (RDBU), NoRS (KRRL) - Number of rare species (KRRL); NoAS - Number of alien (or ruderal) species; NoEg - Number of ergasiophytes; DSS (km) - Distance to the nearest natural steppe site (km).
Abbreviations of the old cemetery in landscape: A – agricultural landscape (blue colour in charts), R – rural landscape (green colour in charts), U – urban landscape (orange colour in charts).
Abbreviations: the way of using cemetery area: Cu – currently used, Cl – closed, Ab – abandoned.