Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute of the Kola Scientific Center RAS

The Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute (PABSI) of the Kola Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences is located near Kirovsk, Murmansk Oblast (67o38' N, 33o58' E).

Established in 1931.

The main areas of activity are botanical, physiological-biochemical, soil research, gardening and landscape design, production and sale of seedlings, potted plants and flowers, lectures and excursions for the general public, development and implementation of garden and environmental therapy programs. The PABCI postgraduate program provides training in botany, plant physiology and biochemistry, and soil science. The PABSI has 8 laboratories, collections of living plants, herbarium, museum, library, archive, protected area and 3 stations. The collections of living plants are represented by tropical and subtropical species (882, 1046 specimens) and outdoor plants: woody (397 taxa, 810 specimens) and herbaceous (1470, 2738) introductions, as well as native plants (397, 1191). About 30% (1060 species) of plants of the Murmansk region grow in the protected area (1224 ha).