2nd International Congress of Alpine and Arctic Botanical Gardens

Concerning two alpine botanical gardens
of the Caucasus
George NAKHUTSRISHVILI 1,2 , Sh. SIKHARULIDZE 1 , R. MURTAZALIEV 3
1 Tbilisi Botanical Garden / Institute of Botany, Tbilisi, Georgia
2 Ilia Chavchavadze State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
3 Mountain Botanical Garden of the Dagestan Scientific Centre / Russian Academy of
Sciences, Dagestan, Russian Federation
There are two alpine botanical gardens in the Caucasus: Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden (founded in
1912, Georgia) and Gunib Alpine Botanical Garden (Dagestan, Russian Federation) with rich plant living
collections. Collections of alpine plants also exist in Tbilisi, Baku, Yerevan and other Botanical Gardens of
the region. For a long time studies of bio-ecology and genetic selection (the latter mainly in Gunib Garden)
of introduced high mountain plants have been carried out in the gardens. In the recent period the alpine
gardens have undertaken additional function that is ex situ conservation of rare and threatened plants
not protected in the wild (not occurring on protected areas or places inaccessible for people). The issue has
become more relevant after starting the IUCN project: Coordination and Development of Plant Red List
Assessments for the Caucasus (the Regional Center of the project is in Tbilisi) that revealed ca. 200 critically
endangered endemic species of the Caucasus Biodiversity Hotspot, which are in need of ex situ conservation
measures. The species should be cultivated in the gardens according to their ecological requirements. Our aim
is acquaintance with international methods and technologies of plant conservation and their application in
the alpine botanical gardens of the Caucasus.
Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden
Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden (BABG) is
located in the village Bakuriani (N 41°45,972
E 43°31,226) – Georgia’s outstanding mountain
resort and skiing center of international
importance (1700m asl). It is situated in a broad
depression surrounded by forested mountain
slopes. Bakuriani Alpine Botanical Garden
was established in 1912 and Engler, Radde and
other famous European botanists attended the
opening ceremony.
Situated at 1650 m asl the Garden specializes in
plants of the Caucasus Mountains and its collections
include some 400 species collected in the
Caucasus, an arboretum of about 125 species of
trees and shrubs (including 75 from the Caucasus),
and some 250 species of herbaceous plants
from elsewhere in the world grown from seed.
Research and Conservation Activities 51