Spoil heaps in Safonovo, Smolensk region: changes in vegetation cover 20 years later

Biodiversity conservation is one of the most important problems facing contemporary botany. These issues are especially relevant in anthropogenic areas with disturbed or even destroyed vegetation cover. For the first time we studied overgrowth of spoil heaps near lignite mines in the town of Safonovo, Smolensk oblast. Geobotanical descriptions were carried out in the territory of the three spoil heaps, 88 species of vascular plants were found, among which meadow and meadow-forest species prevail, and six species are invasive for Smolensk oblast.