As a result of mycological monitoring of old-growth tree plantations in the northern part of the Donetsk Botanical Garden, a xylotrophic agaricomycete Ganoderma resinaceum Boud., rarely found in the steppe zone, was recorded on the trunk of white willow Salix alba L. Brief information on the distribution, conservation status and morphology of this fungus is given.

Generalized data on phytopathogenic micromycetes registered in trees and shrubs of Mariupol from 1992 to 2024 are presented for the first time. A total of 82 fungi species associated with 53 plant species was identified. 19 pathogen species are characterized by annual occurrence, high harmfulness and spread in urban plantings. Among them there are causative agents of powdery mildew, rust, leaf spots and scab, shoot burn and needle dieback. The complex of alien micromycetes includes 35 species (43 % of the total number of identified fungi). The overwhelming majority of them (91 %) are associated exclusively with introduced plants. It is for the first time in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic that the causative agent of powdery mildew in common cherry, namely Podosphaera sp. cf. cerasi was found – being presumably an alien pathogen.

It has been established that the fraction of aquatic and coastal aquatic plants of the spontaneous flora of the Donetsk Botanical Garden numbers 87 species, including the Black Sea endemic Persicaria hypanica (Klokov) Tzvelev and 2 species that are specially protected at the regional level (Carex diluta M. Bieb. and C. hartmanii Cajand.). According to habitat types, they are divided into free-floating (7 species), attached to underwater soil (16 species), growing in periodically drying shallow water (19 species), on wet (35) and moist (34) soils. aquatic and terrestrial forms of Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., P. altissimus (Benth.) Mabille, Veronica anagallis-aquatica L. are represented. The number of apparently extinct species includes 24 % of the species that originally grew in this area.

The research results of Donetsk Botanical Garden are significant contribution to the development of botanical science and environment conservation of our region. Activities of the research staff of Botanical Garden are focused on solving urgent problems in the field of plant introduction and selection, research on biodiversity in the steppe zone and the development of scientific foundations for its conservation, industrial botany, biological invasions both in in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In 2024, the staff of the Donetsk Botanical Garden carried out scientific investigations in 5 directions. Based on the research results, scientists of the Donetsk Botanical Garden issued 124 publications, including two monographs, 67 articles were contributed to scientific journals (among them 6 are indexed in scientometric citation databases Web of Sciences and Scopus, 4 are included in RSCI, 44 are indexed in Russian Science Citation Index, 16 ones are issued under the Higher Attestation Commission), and 55 works are included in the proceedings of scientific conferences.

A brief overview of the work of the VII International Conference «Problems of Industrial Botany of Industrially Developed Regions» is presented. It was held in Kemerovo on October 1–4, 2024 and hosted by the Branch of the Institute of Human Ecology of the Federal Research Centre of Coal and Coal Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The main areas and events within the conference framework, as well as topics of the presented reports are given.

On 21–25 October 2024 the Donetsk Botanical Garden, together with the Order of the Red Banner of Labor Nikitsky Botanical Garden – National Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Federal Research Center Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Association of Planting Material Producers, held the II International Scientific and Practical Conference «Study and Conservation of Biodiversity in Botanical Gardens and Other Introduction Centers» under the auspices of the Council of Botanical Gardens. The main areas of interest, resolutions made in the course of work and the outcome of this conference are presented.

The article is devoted to Yuri Zakharovich Kulagin, a Soviet scientist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Botany at Bashkir State University (1965–1970) and the Laboratory of Forestry at the Institute of Biology of the Bashkir Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1970–1983). Kulagin Yu.Z. is the founder of the scientific direction of industrial dendroecology.

The article presents an overview of long-term mycological and phytopathological studies of phytopathogenic fungi affecting woody and tree-like plants in the «Subtropical Botanical Garden of Kuban» (SBGK) (park of the sanatorium «White Nights») in Sochi. Based on the results of long-term studies, 217 species of phytopathogenic fungi have been identified in the «Subtropical Botanical Garden of Kuban», among which Ascomycota predominate. Totally, 43 species were recorded for the first time in the Krasnodar region, and 32 species were recorded for the first time in Russia. The taxonomic and ecological-biological features of key groups of phytopathogenic fungi on ornamental woody and tree-like plants are analyzed, the most vulnerable groups of plants are identified, and the important role of SBGK as a testing ground for the study of plant diseases in the humid subtropics of Russia is presented.

Present-day distribution of Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, including spontaneous spread, in the areas of settlements and agricultural lands of the Novoazovsk district of the Donetsk People’s Republic was under consideration. Self-sustaining tree groups of A. altissima and infection sources of this invasive species in recreationally valuable coastal territories of the Novoazovsk district have been identified. It is necessary to take measures to limit the expansion of this species and eliminate existing thickets and seeding trees. Centers of the spread of A. altissima are abandoned territories where regular maintenance work is not carried out. In accordance with the available global experience, control measures over the spread of this species should include a set of regularly repeated mechanical and chemical application techniques.

The study analyzed the impact of topographic metrics (TPI, TRI, VRM, slope, aspect) on the productivity of grass communities in Donbass, measured using NDVI. Although all metrics showed statistical significance, their contribution to explaining NDVI variation was low (maximum 3.17 % for TPI). The results confirm the need for multi-factor models to more accurately assess productivity, considering the complex interactions between topographic and other ecological factors.