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Scientists attempt to breed new plants suitable for Arctic conditions

Jointly with experts from other institutions, the scientists planted an untypical garden in the Extreme North
Blooming barberry Igor Zotin/TASS
Blooming barberry
© Igor Zotin/TASS

YEKATERINBURG, October 10. /TASS/. Scientists of the Urals Federal University will try to grow in Yal-Sala (the Yamalo-Nenets Region) irises, barberry, Hungarian lilac and other plants, which are not typical for the Arctic, the university’s press service said.

Jointly with experts from other institutions, the scientists planted an untypical garden in the Extreme North, the university said.

"The specialists could not just do the job, they wanted an experiment, and thus besides the species typical for the Extreme North - Siberian spruce, Siberian larch, Siberian mountain ash, hanging birch, etc. - they planted trees and bushes which are absolutely new to these conditions," the press service quoted Director of the University’s Botanical Garden Viktor Valdaiskikh as saying.

In the Arctic city, the scientists used 200 plants, including Hungarian lilac, common barberry, Canadian rhododendron, chokeberry and many others. In addition to the trees and bushes, they planted irises, daylilies and globeflowers.

"The global warming first of all affects the high latitudes: winters on Yamal are milder, summers - warmer, and the permafrost is degrading," the scientist said. "We cannot say these changes are favorable for the Extreme North’s nature or infrastructures, but we may use them to add new plants to the list of those used in cities there. This way, we make the urban decorations brighter and more expressive."

The Urals Federal University, the biggest university in the Urals Federal District, has 13 scientific laboratories, run by leading foreign experts.