Altapress: trees planted by students of Altai State University in Barnaul successfully wintered

A careful examination of young trees showed that out of 50 saplings, only 2 did not survive the winter. Apparently, one of them froze, and the other was broken by a tractor while clearing snow from the alley.

Natalya Speranskaya, Associate Professor of the Department of Botany, Institute of Biology and Biotechnology, Altai State University:

In general, the lindens overwintered well, most of them are already covered with young foliage. Though, some of them only have swollen buds, but this can be explained by the fact that now it is very dry and hot, and due to a lack of moisture, the trees have not woken up yet.

Now it is necessary to carry out a number of works on the care of the planted trees: to tie them up, cut off dry branches, water so that the lindens gain strength and further develop well.

The good news is that among the fifty planted lindens, there are practically no dead and broken ones, since the South Siberian Botanical Garden prepared very good saplings for us, and our students planted them carefully: they made deep holes and thoroughly shed the earth.

The biologist clarified that the linden belongs to a broad-leaved species and has long been considered useful for human needs and the forest itself. It was widely used by people for various household needs, for decorating park areas and green areas of settlements. For the first fifteen years, linden grows slowly, gaining strength, and then quickly turns into a large, spreading tree, giving shade and a wonderful scent during flowering in summer.

During the flowering period, linden attracts special attention of insects that feed on its nectar. This is a big plus, since it is important not only to preserve the green spaces in the city, but the entire ecosystem, which would not be complete without insects. Thus, we have not only restored the linden alley that once existed here, but also contributed to the strengthening of the city's ecosystem”, emphasized the botanist of Altai State University.

Residents of this microdistrict of the city expressed gratitude to AltSU for the restoration of the alley and expressed the wish that this action would be the first step in the reconstruction of one of the oldest green corners of the regional center.

That large-scale campaign to plant a linden alley took place in Barnaul on October 15, 2019 at the initiative of Altai State University. The landing site along Avanesov Street was determined in agreement with the administration of Barnaul and Gorzelenkhoz. More than fifty years ago, a linden alley was already planted here, there was even a small pond. In summer, residents of the upland part of the city liked to walk in the shade of lindens. By the early 2000s, the alley had thinned out and fell into decay. Together with the administration of Barnaul, Altai State University decided to restore the alley. The event was attended by 30 students of the biological and geographical faculties of Altai State University, who planted 50 linden saplings grown in the South Siberian Botanical Garden of Altai State University on the alley. Rector of the University Sergei Bocharov and President Sergei Zemlyukov took part in the action.

The action became part of the AltSU activities to restore green areas in Barnaul in line with the New Green Wave concept, the draft of which was presented by a working group of scientists of the flagship university on March 24, 2020 at a meeting in the city administration and was approved by Vyacheslav Frank.