Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel in the Avrorin Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden and Institute

Abstract

The article presents the history of introduction and the condition of the introduced to the Kola Peninsula accessions of Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel. Siberian dwarf pine has been introduced to the Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden and Institute several times since 1947. As at 2021, the collection contains 3 accessions of different origin and age: 2 accessions in the main territory in the town of Kirovsk in the Khibiny Mountains and 3 accessions on the experimental site in the town of Apatity in the flat foothills. All the plants were divided into 5 groups depending on their location and age. We assessed their vital condition, winter hardiness, abundance of pollen dispersion and seed production, the degree of Pineus cembrae infestation, measured their height, trunk diameter and needle length. Nonparametric Mann - Whitney, Kruskal -Wallis, Dunn’s tests in the Past 4 program were used to compare quantitative indicators. All the specimens are well-adapted to the conditions of the Kola Peninsula, have slight damage, are winter-hardy, and the degree of Pineus cembrae infestation is very low. The Siberian dwarf pine shrubs on the experimental site in Apatity produce pollen and seeds more abundantly and regularly, have a greater height, diameter and needle length compared to specimens in the main territory in Kirovsk.