Coniferous species in urban flora of Arkhangelsk

Abstract

Along with decorative hardwoods, close attention is paid to coniferous species in an urbanized environment. The introduction of coniferous plants into green spaces is necessary to maintain the sanitary-ecological and architecturalartistic functions of landscape objects throughout the year. On the basis of the conducted research, it was found that eight species of coniferous plants grow in the urban flora of Arkhangelsk, of which 4 species belong to indigenous and four – to the introducers. The dominant role belongs to the prickly spruce (40 %). A large number of the trees studied had a sparse crown, often of irregular shape, one-sided. In addition, most coniferous plants (especially along roads) suffer from gas contamination, which manifests itself in drying, falling and dechromation of needles. Siberian larch has the best indicators of decorative and vital condition. Mountain pine and western thuja are in demand in decorative compositions, although the latter suffers from sunburn in the spring and requires shelter. It was found that the common pine was the least decorative in urban conditions. This species is oppressed in urban conditions by gas pollution and a large amount of dust in the air, so it is better to plant it away from roads and busy streets. When used inside parks and on the territory of forest parks, it does not lose its aesthetic and microclimatic functions. Therefore, it is worth carefully approaching the selection of the assortment when gardening, relying primarily on environmental conditions. When studying the qualitative indicators of seeds of coniferous species, the highest percentage of goodness was noted in Siberian cedar pine (19.5 %), germination energy – in common pine (70.4 %), absolute germination – in common spruce (100 %).