The article is dedicated to the botanist, ecologist, soil scientist, founder of a new direction in biology – industrial botany – doctor of biological sciences, professor of the department of geobotany and soil science, head of the industrial botany laboratory of the Ural State University Vitaly Vladislavovich Tarchevskiy (1905–1969). His life experience and scientific achievements are described, the scientist’s contribution to the development of industrial botany being considered.

During surveys conducted in the greenhouses of the Donetsk Botanical Garden, Coleosoma floridanum Banks, 1900 (Araneae: Theridiidae) – an alien pantropical species of spiders of Neotropical origin was recorded for the first time for the south of the European part of Russia. The primary mode of dispersal of the species appears to be accidental importation via live plants or other cargos. In Europe, C. floridanum is an obligate synanthrope, typically associated with greenhouses of botanical gardens. Within the greenhouses of the Donetsk Botanical Garden, spiders were observed on the undersides of leaves, plant trunks, and beneath flower pots. Notable prey items identified included herbivorous mites (Panonychus citri and Tetranychus urticae), mealybugs larvae (Planococcus ficus), whitefly adults (Trialeurodes vaporariorum), and various species of thrips (Tripidae) and fungus gnats (Sciaridae). Based on these observations, C. floridanum is currently considered an effective agent of biological pest control in greenhouses of the Donetsk Botanical Garden.

The paper assesses the ontogenetic tactics of formation of morphological indicators of the leaf blade of Betula pendula Roth in the environmental conditions of the city. When growing conditions deviated from the optimal for B. pendula, a divergent ontogenetic tactics of features characterizing the leaf blade shape, namely elongation indicator, correlation indicator of the widest part location, correlation of leaf blade width in its middle part to the maximum width, numerical indicators of the apex and base shape was revealed. The revealed ontogenetic tactics should be considered adaptive.

The article presents results of monitoring observations on the state of introduced populations of the rare steppe species Paeonia tenuifolia L., based on the dynamic analysis of density, age and vitality composition of populations, as well as the study of the spatial distribution of individuals. Taking into account population characteristics, introduction success of the species in conditions of the artificial steppe in Donetsk Botanical Garden is shown. It was established that in natural models of the real steppe, favorable conditions were formed for functioning of self-maintenance process in the species populations, which is a necessary pre-requisite for successful, long-term conservation of this species and rare phytogenic pool as a whole. The introduction success of P. tenuifolia was assessed in 7 points out of 8, indicative of good prospects for preserving this species ex situ.

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.