The article provides information about the emergence of a direction in biology – industrial botany. The authors dwell in detail on the personality of doctor of biological science, professor E.N. Kondratyuk, who made a significant contribution to the development of industrial botany in Donbass. The main theoretical and applied tasks of industrial botany and ways to solve them are formulated.

An inventory and analysis of the alien element of the flora of the arid basins of Kabardino-Balkaria (Central Caucasus) was conducted for the first time. 67 species from 50 genera and 20 families were identified. The largest number of alien species was recorded in the families Asteraceae (22 %), Chenopodiaceae (16.3 %), Brassicaceae (14.9 %), Poaceae (7.4 %) and Caryophyllaceae (6 %), which account for about 70 % of the total number of species. Therophytes are absolutely predominant among life forms (78 %). Using the example of the aggressive invasive transforming species Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., the scale of its distribution in the republic was traced.

The article provides data on one of the most aggressive alien species of vascular plants of the PriokskoTerrasny State Nature Biosphere Reserve – Caragana arborescens Lam. Before the establishment of reservation conditions (1945) this species was used in forestry as an accompanying crop during pine planting. Currently, C. arborescens spreads independently being found in 7 % (347 hectares) of the reserve’s territory, mainly on the sands of the first Oka river terrace. In the «Doly» meadow the invasion occurs into relict steppe phytocenoses. Area monitoring has been established for plots of continuous distribution of C. arborescens in the undergrowth.

The paper presents results of a modern inventory of flora of the Kemerovo region and data on the study of the alien component the flora of Kuzbass. The flora of vascular plants of the Kemerovo region is represented by 1733 species, its alien fraction including 240 species (more than 13 % of the total composition. For each of 6 floristic districts of the region, the number and percentage of aboriginal and alien species are specified, including «original» species (growing only in this area). Invasive status of the species is analyzed. For 8 species, its change is recommended.

The paper presents result of geobotanical survey of the southern part of Perm Region and northern regions of the Republic of Bashkortostan are presented; the distribution of Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden. in segetal (weed-field) communities is revealed. In the syntaxonomic space, the communities were classified in the association Conio maculatum – Stachietum palustris Khasanova et al 2018. New localities of the species in cultivated fields of Tatyshlinski district of the Republic of Bashkortostan were revealed. It has been established that Heracleum sosnowskyi infiltrates into the communities of grain crops – wheat, oats, barley and rye.

The paper analyzes alien component of the cenoflora of wheat crops surveyed in 2019–2022 in the Penza region. 42 adventive species were revealed, which is 25.9% of the total number of weeds in wheat fields. The leading families in terms of the species number are Asteraceae (10 species), Brassicaceae (9), Poaceae (7). As far as the immigration ways are concerned, xenophytes predominate (40), according to naturalization degree epecophytes prevail (38). More than half of the introduced species are archaeophytes (23) of Mediterranean and Iranian-Turanian origin. Plants of North American origin make up 47 % of the neophytes. The spectrum of life forms of adventive plants is dominated by herbaceous annual and biennial plants (88.1 %), indicative of the specific environments of this agrocenosis type. Tripleurospermum inodorum (L.) Sch. Bip. is the most widespread alien species in wheat crops of the Penza region. Investigation of wheat fields have resulted in registering of two quarantine objects of North American origin, namely Cuscuta campestris Yunck. and Ambrosia trifida L.

The herbarium of the Institute of General and Experimental Biology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UUH) (Ulan-Ude) represents 48.6% of the total number of invasive and potentially invasive species of Siberia and is represented by 72 species from 61 genera and 28 families (433 sheets). The leading family groups in the spectrum are Asteraceae (18 species), Brassicaceae, Fabaceae (8 species each), Poaceae (6 species), and Rosaceae (4 species). According to the invasive status, the herbarium contains 6 transforming species (Acer negundo L., Echinocystis lobata (Michx.) Torr. et A. Gray, Elodea canadensis Michx., Hordeum jubatum L., Medicago ×varia Martyn, Melilotus albus Medikus) and 5 potentially invasive species (Cuscuta europaea L., Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould et Shinners, Hesperis pycnotricha Borbrs et Degen, Solidago gigantea Aiton, Symphytum caucasicum M. Bieb.). The geography, ecology and chronology of the presented plants are considered.

The invasion of Berberis vulgaris L. into forest phytocenoses of the Voronezh Nature Reserve occurred as a result of the species cultivation at forest guard cordons and in tree nurseries of the protected area. The barberry naturalization in Pineta nemoralo-pratoherbosa was initiated by a fire in 1997. Currently, the species has become a structural component of the undergrowth in several forest areas. The state of the population indicates a high probability of an increase in the number and density of individuals in the near future, as well as further expansion of the species. In a number of reserves of the Russian Federation, the naturalization of alien plant species poses a real threat to biological diversity and natural changes. The effective functioning of Russian federal protected areas should include not only monitoring and study of biological invasions, but also practical measures to manage these processes (preventing and eliminating the consequences).

The paper presents data on the findings of 18 alien species in the city of Lugansk. Based on our own photographs available from Plantarium and iNaturalist websites, 12 species of adventive plants are recorded for the first time for the flora of Donbass, and 6 ones for the flora of the Lugansk People’s Republic. Information is given on locations, nature of habitats and abundancy of identified populations of alien plants, an approximate assessment of the degree of their naturalization and invasive potential being given. According to the degree of naturalization, most of them are epecophytes (eight species), five are colonophytes, three are phanerophytes and two are agriophytes. The results obtained are useful for compiling regional floristic reports and research on the species composition, distribution, and dynamics of adventive species.

The influence of Sosnowsky’s hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden.) on the parameters of soil biological activity was studied in comparison with other types of plant communities (grass-forb meadow, small-leaved young growth) forming postagrogenic ecosystems in the middle taiga subzone of the Komi Republic. It is shown that H. sosnowskyi, when introduced into fallow lands, forms unique speciespoor plant communities preserved and self-sustainable for a long time. The soil biological activity in postagrogenic ecosystems is primarily influenced by the type of plant community (qualitative composition of plants) and the characteristics of the physic and chemical soil characteristics. Invasion of H. sosnowskyi into postagrogenic ecosystems of the middle taiga contributes to the activation of the vital activity of microbial communities, which is reflected in an increase in the value of microbial biomass compared to fallow lands occupied by grass-forb meadows and tree communities.