Yevtushenko Y. Biological and ecological peculiarities of Aesculus carnea Hayne and prospects of its use in Kyiv landscaping

The thesis presents the results of comprehensive studies of ecological and biological characteristics of introducted species A. carnea in condition of Kyiv. On the basis of the inventory it was established that A. carnea is a rare species in gardening of Kiev, which grows mainly in single and group plantings. Most of the plants - trees at the age from 10 to 20 years. The level of living status was evaluated mostly as "good". It was determined that reproduction by seed propagation is inadvisable, since species is characterized by relatively low reproductive capacity. Results of vegetative propagation by grafting demonstrated feasibility of whip & tongue grafting. The optimal scheme of explants sterilization is the using of 1.0 % solution of AgNO3 for 5 minutes. For mass reproduction in culture in vitro it is advisable to cultivate microshoots on MS medium + BAP and kinetin (0.5 mg l-1). Best results of rizogenesis activity were fixed on nutrient medium - MS + IBA (5.0 mg l-1). For the first time, seasonal rhythm of growth and development of A. carnea in the conditions of the studied area was investigated. The regularities of the phenological phases passage and their dependence on meteorological parameters were determined. Analysis of the results of direct laboratory freezing showed that A. carnea is more cold-resistant than A. hippocastanum. At the same time, negative temperatures damage it more than A. pavia. The level of species drought resistance in different ecological zones of Kiev was evaluated. Comparison of resistance levels to impact of stress factor of three species of the genus Aesculus showed that A. carnea is more drought-resistant than A. pavia and A. hippocastanum. The functional state of the photosynthetic apparatus of species leaves in different zones of Kiev using the method of chlorophyll fluorescence induction was determined. In the conditions of anthropogenic load increasing, "index of viability" reduced by 25 %, indicating the decrease of intensity of dark photochemical processes in the leaves chloroplasts during the transition from conditional control zone to carriageways. The analysis of the heavy metal content in the A. carnea leaves of and in the soil in areas of growing by atomic emission spectroscopy was conducted. It was demonstrated that on the boulevard Druzhby Narodiv the cuprum total content exceeds the limit, which negatively affects on the life of the plant. A. carnea is a perspective species for the introduction to the area of researches. Since red horse chestnut is relatively resistant to the action of stress factors, it is reasonable to use it in landscaping of parks and gardens.