Based on a detailed analysis of current data on living plant collections in botanical gardens of the Russian Federation for 2025, a comprehensive assessment of their current status was conducted. For the first time, data from 101 botanical garden collections, comprising over 430000 living plant specimens, have been subjected to comprehensive analysis. The conducted research clearly demonstrates that Russian botanical gardens represent a complex, climatically adapted, and geographically distributed system of biodiversity conservation, possessing characteristics of ecological sustainability and scientific rationale. The study revealed a clear regional specialization of botanical gardens, and comprehensively substantiated their key role as a strategic living gene bank of the country. This gene pool is of critical importance for ensuring food and environmental security of the Russian Federation in the context of modern global challenges, including climate change and accelerating biodiversity loss.

Plugatar Yu.V., Golosova E.V.