Home – Home – Jornals – Siberian Journal of Forest Science 2023 number 5

The capsule review of the scientific editor for the thematic issue of the Siberian Journal of Forest Science, 2023, number 5 is presented, dedicated to the studies in dendrological parks and botanical gardens.

The competent organization and safety of the public space of the city, the educational and educational potential of its territories underlie the implementation of infrastructure and environmental projects. Despite the fact that every year we hear in the news about the planting of several thousand trees in the landscaping of the city of Krasnoyarsk, the total area of green zones and the provision in terms of a person remains insufficient. Requires the preservation of existing and the creation of new recreational areas. From the point of view of territorial connectivity, the presence of several types of landscapes, the diversity of vegetation, objects of scientific, historical and spiritual development, the project of forming a new cultural, educational, educational and scientific space of the city in the area of Akademgorodok, on the territory of the arboretum of V. N. Sukachev Institute Forest Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Church of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, «Krasivy Bereg», «Gremyachaya Griva». The scientific and educational foundation of this project can be the arboretum of V. N. Sukachev Institute Forest Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. This requires the preservation and restoration of its territory within the boundaries of the growth of introduced trees and shrubs, the development of the Regulations on the Arboretum as a specially protected object of nature, the implementation of infrastructure, environmental and educational projects.

During the field experiments on artificial inoculation, the mycelium of Grosmannia aoshimae (Ohtaka et Masuya) Masuya et Yamaoka fungus was observed to spread slowly in the conductive tissues of Siberian fir ( Abies sibirica Ledeb.) trees that retained their viability after slow intensity attack by four-eyed fir bark beetles ( Polygraphus proximus Blandford). In damaged trees the length of phloem necrosis after artificial inoculation of trunks with G. aoshimae culture was approximately 30 % less than in trees without signs of attack. The most likely reason for the inhibition is the defense reactions presumably induced in stems by unsuccessful attempts of the beetle attack prior to artificial inoculation. This phenomenon raises the question of the lack of knowledge about induced resistance in coniferous species. In contrast to herbaceous plants induced resistance in woody species including coniferous ones has been poorly studied. It was demonstrated that natural or artificial “low-intensity” infection with pathogens can increase tree resistance to diseases in branches and trunks, as well as to stem pests. However, the signaling pathways that cause the activation of defense reactions have not yet been sufficiently characterized. Because of the size of woody plants and the multiplicity of their ecological relationships, it is of particularly importance to study the interactions between molecular signaling pathways that are running from the different sites of damage. Studies of induced resistance in conifers, especially the characterization of endogenous signaling pathways, open the new prospects for tree conditions diagnosing, developing environmentally friendly methods for regulating the resistance of forest stands, mitigating the pest impact on trees, including the cases of biological invasions.

Materials are presented on the history of formation and the current state of the arboretum of V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, established in 1977 with the aim of testing woody plants from various botanical and geographical areas in the conditions of the city of Krasnoyarsk, which will subsequently be a source of seeds and planting material for introduction into green building in the territory of the settlements of Krasnoyarsk Krai. During almost half a century of the existence of the arboretum, about 450 species of woody plants were tested for gradual acclimatization. Currently, 203 winter-hardy species of trees and shrubs grow on its territory (4.17 ha). This collection is the basis for diverse bioecological studies, in which specialists from most laboratories of the Institute of Forest are involved. Observations are made on the seasonal growth, development, physiological and phenological characteristics of woody plants. The reproductive processes and possibilities of seed and vegetative propagation of introduced plants are being studied. The karyological features and microclonal propagation of conifers are studied. The arboretum is a test site for studies of damage to introduced plants by insects and fungal phytopathogens. Modern problems of arboretum conservation associated with the intention to build a multi-storey residential building on its territory are characterized, in which 628 specimens of woody plants (36.8 % of the total number) will be cut down, and 165 specimens will suffer indirectly, being within the area that falls under development. The efforts made in this regard by the authorities and the public to protect the arboretum, to preserve this unique object for future generations of scientists and all residents of the city of Krasnoyarsk are reflected.

The appearance of new dendrophilic intruders in forest communities in Russia in the XXI century are becoming more frequent and they cause more and more significant damage to stands. Each new aggressive alien species (invader) almost always turns out to be a big problem for foresters, since it is always detected by the damage caused, that is, when it has actually already naturalized in new habitats for it. By this time, there are no drugs approved for use against this alien, protection technologies have not been developed and the peculiarities of the biology of the phytophagus in its emerging secondary area have not been studied. Often the invader first appears in the forests around large cities and transport hubs, in various kinds of specially protected natural areas (protected areas). This makes it even more difficult to develop measures to protect against it. The appearance of an alien species in the forests of nature reserves and national parks currently makes it almost impossible to carry out protection measures even when the harm from the alien is obvious. Having appeared on the territory of a protected area, an invader becomes a protected inhabitant upon his presence here, since the current legislation does not provide for a different status for him. But in the taiga forests of Siberia, the appearance of invaders also does not lead to a quick start of developing measures to protect against them. Since the beginning of the XXI century, such dangerous invaders as the Ussuri polygraph ( Polygraphus proximus Blandford, 1894), boxwood firewood ( Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859)), eastern chestnut nutlet ( Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, 1951), ash narrow-bodied emerald gold ( Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, 1888), etc. have penetrated into the forests and landscaping plantings of Russia. Some of them have caused irreparable damage to natural forest communities. The purpose of the article is to consider some aspects of the current situation with dendrophilic invaders and discuss possible ways to solve the problem of protection from new intruders.

The information obtained by the authors during the karyological study on conifers growing in arboretums, parks, and botanical gardens from different countries is summarized. Representatives of two genera, pine ( Pinus L.) and spruce ( Picea A. Dietr . ), have been studied in the Pinaceae family; these species have 24 chromosomes in diploid complement (2 n = 24). Seven species and one interspecific hybrid of pine and eight species of spruce were analyzed. In Cupressaceae family, five introduced species were studied, which are representatives of the genera thuja ( Thuja L.), cypress ( Cupressus L.), false cypress ( Chamaecyparis Spach) and Sequoiadendron ( Sequoiadendron J. Buchholz); karyotype of Cupressaceae representatives includes 22 chromosomes (2 n = 22). In species, forms and cultivars of conifers from Pinaceae and Cupressaceae families, which are under introduction, as well as being components of green plantations in settlements of different geographical regions, great variability of karyological features. There area variability of chromosome numbers (mixoploidy), changes in the morphology of chromosomes, an increase of the number of nucleolar loci, appearance of supernumerary chromosomes, a high occurrence and a wide range of chromosomes anomalies. The changes are probably caused by the acclimatization of plants in new growing conditions and adaptation to increased recreational load in park planting. They can cause an increase in phenotypic and genetic diversity. It should be taken into account during introduction and carrying out activities on breeding of conifer species. On the basis of the data obtained, problems of scientific, experimental production, educational and cultural significance can be solved, recommendations for the selection of species and intraspecific taxa suitable for landscaping settlements in a particular region can be developed.

To elucidate the reasons for the differences Fir species ( Abies . Mill.) damage by four-eyed fir bark beetle ( Polygraphus proximus Blandford), we studied the structure of fir bark in sections Balsamea , Momi , Abies , Grandis from the collections of the Tsitsin Main botanical garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In the bark, the features of the structure of the outer bark tissues (periderm and rhytidome) and the inner bark, which consisted of the cortex and secondary phloem, were studied. Species of fir, the outer bark of which are formed by periderms including layers of spongy and stony (lignified) phellem (phellem of Manchurian fir ( Abies holophylla Maxim.), Nikko fir ( A. homolepis Siebold & Zucc.), Nordmann fir ( A. nordmanniana (Steven) Spach)), as well as species that early formed a rhytidome (Nordmann fir), are practically not colonized by the P. proximus . The cork of fir species, the phellem of which is represented by the same type of suberinized cells, and having a small thickness (species from section Balsamea ), is more attractive for invasion by the P. proximus . The relationship between damage by the P. proximus and the structural features and the ratio of the components of the outer and middle layers of the inner bark, where the degree of sclerification is the main factor, is noted. The least attractive for P. proximus are the fir species that have a high degree of sclerification of the outer and middle layers of the inner bark. The degree of constitutional resistance to P. proximus increases with an increase in the degree of accretion and size of sclereid groups, the uniformity and density of their distribution. The most vulnerable are firs with a low degree of sclerification of the outer and middle layers and/or an uneven and loose distribution of sclereid groups, and firs with an increased and high content of mucilage cells (Siberian fir ( A. sibirica Ledeb.)). An inverse relationship was noted between the degree of sclerification and the content of mucilage cells. A clear relationship between P. proximus and the content of calcium oxalate crystals, as well as the characteristics of the resinous system, has not been established.

More than 50 invasive insect species have appeared on the Black Sea coast of Russia in the last two decades. The study of trophic interactions of alien insects is of great importance for understanding the invasive processes. Dendrological collections of parks and botanical gardens play an important role in this case. The purpose of this study was to clarify the trophic associations of invasive pest species - the cypress jewel beetle Lamprodila festiva (Linnaeus, 1767) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and the frosted moth-bug Metcalfa pruinosa (Say, 1830) (Homoptera: Flatidae) in ornamental plantations of the dendrological park “Yuzhnye Kultury” and to determine their role in the drying out of woody plants. The studies were carried out in 2020-2021 on the territory of the mentioned above dendrological park (Russia, the federal territory of Sirius). The botanical collection of this park is represented by 665 species, varieties and garden forms. For the cypress jewel beetle Lamprodila festiva 13 taxa (species, varieties and garden forms) from Cupressaceae were identified as host plants, of which Cupressus lusitanica and Juniperus squamata were noted as novel hosts. Only Cupressus sempervirens var. pyramidalis and Juniperus communis originate from the pest’s primary range, - the Mediterranean region and North Africa (15.4 % of all plant species examined). Cypress jewel beetle commonly kills its hosts within 1-7 years. Metcalfa pruinosa was detected on 25 species of woody plants, of which only 4 species have North American origin (as well as M. pruinosa ): Torreya californica , Magnolia grandiflora , Catalpa bignonioides and Celastrus scandens (16 % of the all plant species examined). Eleven plant species from the genera Torreya, Magnolia, Eurya, Euonymus, Cotoneaster, Citharexylum, Ilex, Schinus, Pterocarya, Sorbus, Celastrus and families Taxaceae, Magnoliaceae, Pentaphylacaceae, Celastraceae, Rosaceae, Verbenaceae, Aquifoliaceae, Anacardiaceae, Juglandaceae turned to be the novel hosts of the insect on the Black Sea coast of Russia. The frosted moth-bug does not notably affect its host plants, but reduces their decorative effect.

The study was carried out on the territory of the Botanical Garden of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The collection revealed 61 species from 37 genera and 20 families of woody plants that have become naturalized and have gone beyond the expositions. The highest rate of naturalization was observed in the Rosaceae , Sapindaceae and Oleaceae families. The capacity for naturalization was demonstrated by plants with Asian (19 species), Eurasian (17 species), North American (14 species) and European (5 species) distribution range. In terms of life-forms, among the naturalized species, may be divided as follows: trees - 34 species, 55.7 %, shrubs - 24 species, 39.3 %, lianas - 3 species, 5 %. Most of the naturalized species (85 %) are characterized by a very low occurrence on the territory of the arboretum and forest area in Botanical garden. Only 9 species of woody plants have maximum occurrence rates: Acer negundo, A. platanoides, Berberis vulgaris, Corylus avellana, Cotoneaster lucidus, Juglans mandshurica, Malus baccata, Quercus robur, Ribes rubrum .

The living ground cover species composition under the various tree species canopy in the Arboretum of V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, in the city of Krasnoyarsk was studied. The purpose of the work is to determine the ground cover species composition, structure and phytomass in the various tree species biogroups. The studies were carried out in 2020-2022 at the 13 tree species biogroups growing on the Arboretum territory. The floristic composition, projective cover and occurrence of species growing in the studied biogroups were determined. Based on the analysis of floristic data, biodiversity indices were calculated. The taxonomic, belt-zonal, ecological, biomorphological features of the flora structure were determined. It was established that 12 shrub layer species and 47 living ground cover species (44 - the grass-shrub layer and 3 moss taxons) were recorded in the studied woody plant biogroups. Species diversity indices were calculated for each biogroup. The ground cover ecological and ecological-coenotic structures have been determined. The most important groups have been identified. The factors influencing the ground cover characteristics were identified. It has been established that the living ground cover floristic composition is influenced by both biotic (phytogenic field) and abiotic factors in the arboretum 46 years after its creation. The phytogenic field species-specific influence on the living ground cover species composition was revealed in six tree species. The ground projective cover and phytomass as well as the species occurrence are significantly affected by abiotic factors, in particular, illumination.

The modern climate of the South of the Middle Siberia makes it possible for many other regions woody plants to grow here. Introduced plants are widely used in landscaping of cities and towns, in creation of the protective forest plantations, as well as for scientific and educational purposes. Therefore, regular summarizing the results of plant introduction is of great practical value. This research is devoted to the introduction of two East Asian species (early forsythia ( Forsythia ovata Nakai) and Manchurian ash ( Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr.)) and one North American species (green ash ( Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.)) the olive family (Oleaceae) in the arboretum of V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest Sib. Br. Rus. Acad. Sci. in Krasnoyarsk Akademgorodok. The plants of these three species were found to show high winter hardiness - their shoots are not damaged either in winter or during spring frosts. Under conditions of the introduction, these plants retain the life form, which is characteristic for their natural habitats: at the age of 40, Korean forsythia bushes have a height of 1.5-2 m, red ash trees - 9-13 m, manchurian ash trees - up to 8 m. Manchurian ash plants, despite being 40 years old, did not have a flowering phase. Plants of Korean forsythia and red ash go through all phases of seasonal development. Based on sixteen years observations, the article presents the dates of the main phenological phases and the sums of effective temperatures at the beginning of flowering and shoot growth. Korean forsythia and red ash successfully bloom and bear fruits, producing high quality seeds (viability 79-91 %). Planting material of these highly decorative species can be grown from local reproduction seeds and be recommended for greening of Krasnoyarsk.

At present, Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) is widely used in the landscaping of industrial cities, despite the fact that, according to its physiological characteristics, it is not resistant to intense technogenic pollution. Thus, the study of radial growth dynamics of Scots pine trees under the influence of technogenic pollution of different composition and intensity is greatly important. The purpose of this article is to use the dendrochronological method to answer the question of whether pollution modifies the climatic response of the annual ring width of Scotch pine in the green plantations of Krasnoyarsk. The objects of the study were trees growing on three test sites (TS) exposed to the negative effects of atmospheric toxicants: 2) TS «E. Stasova str.» (pollution from vehicles, the main pollutants are CO, NO, NO₂, SO₂, benzo(a)pyrene, etc.); 3) TS «Park «Gvardeisky» (emissions from industrial enterprises of non-ferrous metallurgy and heat and power complex; the main pollutants are CO, NO, NO₂, SO₂, soot, fluorine compounds, benzo(a)pyrene, hydrogen sulfide, etc.); 4) TS «9 Maya str.» (total impact of emissions from motor transport and industrial enterprises of non-ferrous metallurgy and heat and power complex) and on one conditionally 1) clean test site - TS «Arboretum of IL SB RAS». Based on the annual ring width data obtained in the first article of the cycle (Klad’ko, Skripal’shchikova, 2021), we calculated indexed radial increment curves for each site. To identify the climatic signal in indexed chronologies, we used the method of sliding correlation climatic response functions. At the TS 2, in comparison with the conditionally pure TS 1, an increased sensitivity of Scots pine to the temperature of middle-July, at the TS 3 an increased sensitivity to temperature of one-half of August, at the TS 4 an increased sensitivity to temperature and precipitation of middle June. The results showed that climate signal in dynamics of the radial growth of Scotch pine modified by the influence of technogenic pollution in relation its properties.

Here we report about notable damage on the leaves of Tatar maple ( Acer tataricum L.) in the arboretum of V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (IF SB RAS) in the city of Krasnoyarsk and the Central Siberian Botanical Garden, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (CSBG SB RAS) in the city of Novosibirsk. In 2008-2009 and 2023, on average up to 70 % of the apical leaves of Tatar maple were gnawed. At the same time, the damaged caused to Amur maple ( A. tataricum subsp. ginnala (Maxim.) Wesm.), which grew next to Tatar maple in both arboreta, did not exceed 35 %. Insignificant characteristic damage (no more than 5 % of leaves in the lower part of the tree crown) was documented on the European maple ( A. platanoides L.) in the IF SB RAS arboretum. There were no signs of damage on the European field maple ( A. campestre L.) and the North American maple ( A. negundo L.) in the IF SB RAS arboretum and CSBG SB RAS. According to characteristic features, in particular, tight trophic association with Tatar maple (main host), damage type (spunning leaves in early summer and noticeable nibbles on leaves by mid-summer), life cycle (larval development from about the mid May to the end of June, leaving leaf shelters before pupation), the presence of an alien species Ypsolopha chazariella (Mann, 1866) (Ypsolophidae, Lepidoptera) is suspected in two Siberian arboreta. The paper discusses the prospects of using arboreta and botanical gardens for the timely detection of alien insect pests.

The review of the book by Allison J. D., Paine T. D., Slippers B., Wingfield M. J. (Eds.). Forest entomology and pathology. Vol. I. Entomology. Springer Nature: Cham, Switzerland, 2023. 810 p. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11553-0