The palaeophytosociological investigations have been carried out in the Donets Basin since 60-ies of the XX century are considered. The first palaeophytocoenosis classifications of the Kasimovian and Gzhelian were carried out by O.K. Schegolev and N.I. Boyarina on the basis of analysis of a systematical position of the dominant plants that had formed a community, and their ecological-landscape conditions. The principles and methods, which were used for the plants community classifications, correspond to the dominant and physiognomic approaches to a vegetation classification. In recent years N.I. Boyarina carried out the classification of the Late Carboniferous vegetation of the Donets Basin using the J. Braun- Blanquet method. This ecological-floristic classification was carried out on the basis of analysis of the floristic composition and ecological conditions of the reconstructed plants communities and a grouping of the plant communities by similarity in floristic composition within the same landscape type. A prodromus of the Middle Gzhelian palaeophytocoenosis and dominant palaeophytocoenosis in rank of orders for Toretzian (Kasimovian), Kalinovian (Early Gzhelian), Luganskian (Midde Gzhelian) and Vyskrivskian (Late Gzhelian) times of the Donets Basin are adduced.

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