What are dendrological parks and botanical gardens

We often visit parks to relax, distract from the bustle and plunge into a calm and peaceful atmosphere. But they can be created not only for recreation and entertainment, but, for example, have a research orientation. Parks come in a variety of species, such as historical, zoological, memorial, but in this article we will talk about dendrological parks and botanical gardens. Let's look at their purpose and history.

Dendrological Parks: Definition

"Arboretum" from Greek is translated as "tree". The Latin name will sound like "arboretum". Dendrological park is a zone of an arboretum, which is intended for public recreation. Its territory is allocated for cultivation in the open ground of woody plants, which are placed on one or another feature, for example, on decorative and geographical. It is noted that most often arboretums belong to botanical gardens, but they can also be independent units. Arboretums began to appear in connection with the development of such an area of botany as dendrology.

We note arboretums with the most diverse collection of tree species: the Sochi, the Forest Technical Academy in St. Petersburg, and the Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow). Abroad, we can distinguish the following examples of parks: arboretum Kornik in Poland, an arboretum in Kew (near London), an arboretum Nikitsky botanical garden in the Crimea. Arboretums can have a narrow focus, that is, only certain plant species can be grown in them. These can be syringaria (specialize in growing lilacs), populums (poplar), coniferetums or pines (conifers), fruticets (shrubs), viticetums (lianas).

There is a single rule for all arboretums: all trees and shrubs are located on a systematic basis. That is, those belonging to the same genus will be planted on a separate site. Visiting the arboretum, you can get to know the amazing world of plants that are on the verge of extinction or are no longer found in nature.

History of occurrence

The tree in the plant world has always played an important role, since throughout the history of mankind it has been of great benefit to people. In the 18th century, works on dendrology appeared, but they only reflected the description of the external signs of plants. Later, scientists began to deal with such problems as the acclimatization of trees, the study of their genetics, and the creation of new species. Particular attention was paid to introduction - the introduction of crops in those places that are not peculiar to their growth.

The tasks that these objects face

Dendrological parks and botanical gardens are directly related to the lands of specially protected areas. They represent a separate category of PAs, where special collections of plants are created to enrich flora and preserve biodiversity. In addition, they are necessary for the implementation of educational, scientific and educational activities. In these environmental institutions, scientific principles of landscape architecture, ornamental gardening, planting of trees, introduction of wild plants into culture, protection from pests and diseases, and much more are being developed.

Legal regime of dendrological parks and botanical gardens

Let's look at who controls the given territory. The lands on which the botanical gardens and dendrological parks are located are transferred to indefinite use by certain institutions. The territories of these objects are divided into different functional zones: exposition, scientific and experimental and administrative.

Monuments of nature, dendrological parks, botanical gardens have a special legal regime. The first are established by the decision of the government of Russia and the executive bodies of the Russian Federation on the proposal of authorized state bodies in the field of environmental protection.

Those who are related to the land plots on which nature monuments are located are obliged to carry out activities to ensure the regime of their special protection. Botanical gardens and arboretums can be both regional and federal destination. On their territory, activities that are not connected with the performance of their tasks and are capable of violating the integrity of floristic objects are prohibited.

An example of the famous in Russia arboretum

Dendrological, botanical parks and gardens are spread all over the world. A lot of them in Russia. As an illustrative example of such a park, you can name the Sochi Arboretum, which is part of the Sochi National Park. He, like other similar objects, acts as the keeper of the green collection. Located in the heart of the resort city, being a magnificent corner of exotic flora and fauna. Here there are more than 1700 species of trees and shrubs that are collected from different corners of the planet.

Sochi arboretum with its architectural structures, sculptures and fountains looks like a work of art. He appeared in the southern resort at the end of the 19th century, and in the fifties of the last century was reconstructed. Currently, more than 2 thousand species of representatives of the world flora have been planted in the park. He has long been included in the excursion program of most tourists. This tropical kingdom amazes with its variety of exotic plants that blossom even in winter. Not far from it, in Adlerovsky district, there is also the dendrological park "Southern cultures".

What is a botanical garden?

According to the definition given to the botanical garden by the International Council of Botanical Gardens, it is an organization that has documented collections of living plants used for research purposes, as well as for educational processes, biodiversity conservation and demonstration of the flora represented in it. Other definitions say that the botanical garden is a green area created for the above purposes. That is, the difference in the interpretation of this concept is only that it is called either a territory or an organization.

In the modern view, this term refers to a specially protected urban greenery area, based on the resources of which are created landscaped gardens, documented green collections. At botanical gardens usually there are greenhouses, nurseries, herbariums, excursion-educational departments.

In the collection of the Main Botanical Garden, which is located in Moscow, there are many species of plants from the countries of the Northern Hemisphere, who were not immediately able to get used to the unusual climate for them.

When did the botanical garden first appear?

The first botanical garden was created in the XIV century in the Italian city of Salerno, which was famous in the Middle Ages as the oldest medical school in Europe. One of the well-known doctors was then Matteo Silvatico, who was also a botanist. In those days, the main source of medicines were various plants.

This man first discovered the botanical garden: in it, students who in the future were supposed to become doctors, could get acquainted with medicinal plants. The name was given to him in honor of the ancient Roman goddess of wisdom - "Garden of Minerva". It became the place where plants were grown for scientific purposes. Such gardens later began to spread in Italy, and then appeared in other European countries. At first, they maintained a medical orientation, and then began to be created with other purposes.

Activities of Botanical Gardens

In our country, for the first time, a botanical garden appeared under Peter the Great, namely in 1706. It was created in order to grow medicinal plants in it, and the name only emphasized its direction - "Aptekarsky garden". But he also carried out enlightenment tasks. The king personally planted larch, fir and spruce in the garden, so that visitors could clearly see the difference between them.

Botanical gardens are protected natural areas and scientific institutions. Their area is divided into sectors that correspond to certain climatic zones. For those plants that can not settle down in the open ground, greenhouses are built, in which proper conditions are created. As scientific institutions, botanical gardens perform the following tasks: study of plants and conservation of rare species. At these establishments there are herbarium collections, libraries of literature on botany, there are excursion departments.

In China, is the largest botanical garden, the scale of the territory is amazing. It is crossed by 13 rivers, it has mountains and gorges. In Nikitsky botanical garden, which is located on the peninsula of Crimea, grows an olive, whose age is more than 2000 years. The largest botanical garden in Europe is the Main Botanical Garden named after NV Tsitsin, RAS (Moscow). The northernmost point in the world where such an object is located is Norway. In our country, it is located on the Kola Peninsula.

Conclusion

Based on the information presented here, the great importance of such objects as dendrological parks and botanical gardens becomes more evident. They carry a lot of functions and reflect the beauty of the flora of our planet. In these corners of nature, created by man, in one place you can see different types of plants gathered from many countries of the world.