History of the Natural Resources Biodiversity Laboratory

During the period of intensive use of natural resources, it is important to ensure the preservation of the entire diversity of the gene pool of higher plants. One of the ways of its preservation is the creation of collections of wild plants in botanical gardens and the development of techniques for their cultivation.

The introduction of useful herbaceous plants into the culture of Belarus first began in April 1932, when the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR decided to organize the Central Botanical Garden at the Belarusian Academy of Sciences. Already in the first pre-war years, the Garden carried out extensive scientific and research work in the field of plant introduction, studying the vegetation of the local flora, creating a collection gene pool of plants of various purposes.

For the creation of collections, seed material was acquired at that time by means of expeditions to the old gardens, parks and forest dachas of our republic. But in order to fully satisfy the requirements for the creation of wide collections with a large biological diversity of plants for carrying out scientific and applied research on their basis, it was necessary to expand the introductory search for new plants from other floristic regions, and, therefore, to organize the scientific exchange of seeds and living plants with botanical institutions of the Soviet Union and foreign countries. For these purposes, in 1932, a seed laboratory was established at the Department of Flowering Plants. There was an opportunity to start compiling the Index seminum (list of seeds offered for exchange). The first Index seminum of the Garden was published in 1934 (then it was called Delectus seminum). It presented 533 species and varieties of plants belonging to 48 families, 231 genera, of which 435 are herbaceous, mainly from natural flora. Yevgenia Uladimirovna Ivanova took the most active part in the issue of the first Index seminum. Later, the growth of the Garden's collections was noted, and in the Index seminum of 1938 there were already 634 species and varieties of plants belonging to 77 families and 317 genera.

Already in the first years, as evidenced by the preserved Index seminum, such decorative plants as Carpathian bluebell, pink acroclinum, dimorphotheca, velvets, large-flowered primrose, virginia physasthegia, alpine penstemon and others were grown in the TBS. Sarep mustard, lavender, Ethiopian and medicinal sage, medicinal sedum, and others were cultivated from medicinal, food, and essential oils.

During the German-fascist occupation, the Botanical Garden was subjected to enormous destruction and devastation. A part of the taxonomy with perennial plant species was almost completely destroyed. Crops and plantings that survived were in a very neglected state.

After the liberation of Minsk on July 3, 1944, together with the construction of the city, the restoration of the Botanical Garden began. The section of useful herbaceous plants was officially given the name of taxonomic section, although it was more like a collection of useful herbaceous plants (for example, there was a large collection of lupine, alfalfa, etc.). This plot did not have a certain place and was located in different parts of the garden. Only in 1955, with the great support of the director Mikalai Vladislavovich Smolsky, the collection acquired a certain place (between oak and rowan alleys, where it existed until 1964).

In 1946, under the leadership of E.V. Ivanova, the first post-war Index seminum was published. All the work on scientific exchange and the study of useful herbaceous plants was carried out by a group of employees, which from 1946 to 1968. headed by A.U. Ivanova. In 1956, Galina Vasilievna Pashina started working on the site, and in 1960 - Lidiya Vasilievna Kukharova. A.U. In fact, Ivanova and her colleagues laid the foundation for the extensive collection of useful herbaceous plants (up to 1,500 taxa), which is now presented in the National Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. Until now, the main source of replenishment of existing collections and the creation of new ones is the scientific exchange of seeds and living plants with botanical and plant-breeding institutions of far and near abroad. For these purposes, the laboratory completes an exchange fund of seeds, the Index seminum is issued. Exchange relations are expanding every year and are now carried out with approximately 240 botanical gardens and arboretums of 46 foreign countries, covering all continents of the globe. During the entire period of existence of the botanical garden, 267,723 samples of seeds, cuttings, bulbs, tubers and live plants of various life forms were obtained through exchange operations: trees and bushes, herbaceous plants of various purposes, ornamental open and closed ground. At different times, GV Pashina, L.U. Kukharova, Ivan Vasilyevich Laznuha took part in the exchange.

In 1955, A.U. Ivanova, the construction of an exposition of plant taxonomy was started, where individual families were located according to the system adopted at that time by professor A.A. Grossheim. At the same time, a plot of medicinal plants was planted with seeds obtained from the All-Union Institute of Medicinal Plants (VILR, Moscow region).

When the Central Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR was granted the status of a research institute in 1967, divisions were created again, and each of them developed its own scientific directions. The laboratory, which was called the seed laboratory in 1968, was renamed the plant resources mobilization laboratory, which was headed by candidate of biological sciences Mikhail Aleksandrovich Kudzinov.

In 1969 under the leadership of M.A. Kudinava, on the territory of the Central Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR, a plot of sod-podzolic soils with an area of ​​0.05 ha was selected and experience was laid on the cultivation of large-fruited North American cranberries in Belarus [1, 2, 3]. In 1979, "Recommendations for the establishment of plantations of North American large-fruited cranberries" [4] were published based on the developments of M.A. Kudinov and Yevgeny Konstantinovich Sharkovsky. On the basis of the conducted research, the "Scientific and technical program of the organization in the Republic of Cultivated Cranberry" was developed and adopted for implementation.

Under the leadership and direct participation of M.A. Kudzinov, the construction of an experimental large-fruited cranberry plantation was started in the Gantsavitsky district of the Brest region. Thanks to the efforts of laboratory staff Y.K.Sharkovsky, Mikhail Semyonovich Bareishi, L.V. Kukharava, G.V. Pashina, Lyudmila Rygoravna Birukova and others. in Gantsavichy, on an area of ​​1ha, the first planting of green cranberry cuttings purchased in Canada was carried out.

Along with the introduction of new species into culture through the scientific exchange of seeds with botanical gardens, another way of replenishing the collections is used - expeditionary trips to places where useful plants grow naturally. Employees of the Garden took part in expeditions organized by the Council of Botanical Gardens of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, the All-Union Institute of Plant Breeding, and regional botanical gardens. In 1957, G.U. Pashyana brought seeds and live plants from Central Asia and the Caucasus.

In 1977 L.U. Kukharova as part of the expedition of the Central Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, and in 1978 as part of the expedition of the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR and in 1988 as part of the expedition of the Main Botanical Garden of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of Russia (Novosibirsk) collected seeds of medicinal, essential oil, and saleros for biological reclamation of salt dumps of the Saligorsk potash plant. In 1978 and 1979 G.U. Pashina, as part of the VIR expedition, visited the central and eastern regions of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia in order to collect seeds of decorative plants.

In 1982, according to the reconstruction plan, the site of taxonomy was moved to the southwestern part of the garden at the junction of birch and poplar alleys, where an exposition of a large number of herbaceous plants was laid according to the system adopted at that time by Academician A.L. Takhtajana. A new exposition was also created - a plot of spicy plants. At that time, L.U. directly participated and led in laying out the expositions of taxonomy and spicy plants. Kukharov.

In 1986, Kukharova L.U. was appointed head of the laboratory to replace M. A. Kudinav, and in the same year the laboratory was headed by Mikhail Ivanovich Yarosevich.

Employees of the laboratory conducted an active search and introduction into the culture of spicy-aromatic and tasty plants with the aim of using them in the food industry and obtaining on their basis substitutes for expensive, imported types of products - spices, medicines, food additives and others. For the most complete identification of potential opportunities for studying groups of plants, the method of attracting genera complexes was used, and for large genera - sections. From among the genera complexes, species of the genera astragalus, periwinkle, bellflower, St. John's wort, snake's head, clover, onion, oleander, raponticum, bluehead, licorice, sage, cranberry were brought to study in culture. The initial introductory assessment has identified a number of species that are subject to further detailed study under culture conditions. These are species of the genera Gorace, sedum, sylphia, clover, astragalus, licorice, onion, galega and amaranth, which are recommended for growing in different agro-climatic conditions of Belarus. In the collective farms and state farms of the republic, production plantations were established, which at that time was considered a valuable plant of Sosnovsky holly. In the production conditions, sylphia shrillivata, Weirich's mountain, eastern galega, slizun and rosanets were tested in production conditions. In addition, the research of the laboratory was aimed at solving the issues of preservation of winter stocks of silage fodder with minimal loss of nutrients. Ensiling with the help of preservatives of vegetable origin is justified by the fact that due to the presence of biologically active substances in them, which have bactericidal and fungicidal properties, which suppress the activity of microorganisms and fungal infections in the ensiled mass. The green mass of tarragon wormwood was used as a vegetable preservative, which showed a high preserved effect.

In 1993, the laboratory was headed by L.U.Kukharova, and in 1999, the laboratory was renamed the plant resource mobilization department.

The collection included rare species that are subject to protection not only within our region, but also throughout the territory of the former Soviet Union. Such, in particular, are the forest windmill, common water catchment, Siberian and leafless orcas, European bathwort, Sarmatian incense, locust lily, bear's onion, scaly sedge and others, included in the Red Book of Belarus, as well as large astronia, mountain arnica, summer left, yellow poppy, Mlakosevych's and foreign peonies, Altai rhubarb, Biberstein's daylily and others listed in the Red Book of the USSR.

In 2010, the department was renamed the Laboratory of Biodiversity of Plant Resources, which was headed by Dr. Uladzimir Uladzimirovich Titok. Under his leadership, the main directions of scientific and innovative activities of the laboratory were determined using modern molecular genetic and biochemical methods and information technologies.

Work on the study and preservation of rare species of plants, the development of methods of their repatriation to their natural places of growth, and the formation of a national reserve gene pool of rare and endangered species of plants of the natural flora of Belarus was started (C.Sc. Barys Yuryevich Anoshanka, Svyatlana Pavlavna Torchyk, Alesya Uladzimirovna Kuchonak and Maryna Anatolyevna Bedulenko). Places of natural growth of populations of rare and endangered species of the natural flora of Belarus are established, which are attracted to the botanical garden to assess the degree of stability and adaptation possibilities in ex-situ conditions, a comparative study of their ecological-biological and genetic-population features in in-situ and ex-situ conditions is carried out. -situ, methods of their reproduction are being developed. Stationary experimental sites for model repatriation, study of ecological and morphological-physiological features of plant development in communities are being laid on the territory of the Central Bureau of Forestry in the Flora of Belarus sector. The joint efforts of researchers from the Central Bank of Ukraine and the Institute of Experimental Botany named after V.F. Kuprevych, the scientific foundations of restoring critical populations of protected plants in the Republic of Belarus are being developed.

The work on the study of the biological diversity of plants of the world flora and the creation of our own effective varieties of medicinal (L.U. Kuharova, Tatsiana Vasilievna Gil, Alexander Alexandrovich Kot) and fodder (Sergei Yaugenovich Loban) plants were activated. Employees of the laboratory have created more than 30 varieties of medicinal, aromatic and fodder plants.

Kuptsov, Pavel Andreevich (Pashkevich). In Belarus, as in the whole world, the use of agricultural land for the production of energy has a steady trend. thousand ha. The total potential of bioenergy in the republic is quite significant and accounts for 25 percent to 30 percent of the country's current energy needs.

Since 2014, active joint research with BSTU has been started on the study of biologically active substances and the creation of neogallen preparations with capillary protective, cardiotropic, hepatoprotective, antihypoxic action and stimulating tissue regeneration based on natural complexes that have complementary modules. b.n. Natural flavonoids are non-toxic, non-cumulative and do not usually cause any side effects in large doses. The created complexes are aimed at strengthening the pharmacological properties of flavonoids by using natural compounds to increase their bioavailability.

Since its establishment, the laboratory has maintained the Main introductory book of the Central Botanical Garden, therefore, since 2010, the laboratory began to supervise the scientific and informational activities of the Garden: a system was developed, and since 2012, electronic accounting and registration of collection samples has been conducted; the Internet site of the Central Botanical Garden (B.Yu. Anoshka, Ph.D.) was created and maintained. In 2013, the laboratory coordinated the publication of the book "Collections of the Central Botanical Garden" - the first complex scientific work, which presents a description of all collections of living plants and herbariums of the Garden at a high professional level.

Scientific achievements and work of laboratory employees are widely known both in our country and abroad. They published a total of more than 700 scientific articles and 15 monographs and created more than 30 varieties of medicinal, aromatic and fodder plants.

L.U.Kukharova, B.Yu.Anoshkanka
April 2016