History of flora research in the Uman city (Cherkasy Oblast)

Introduction. The article examines the main stages of the history of research into the flora of the city of Uman (Cherkasy Oblast) from the first half of the 19th century to the present. Key scientists who made a primary contribution to the study of the floristic composition of the region are mentioned. Purpose. To find out the state and features of the study of the flora of the city of Uman and its environs for the entire time of botanical research, to identify their completeness. Methods. Retrospective methods of collecting floristic data of the 19th – early 21st centuries were used; processing of the herbarium funds; analysis of published exsicats and scientific botanical  publications. Results. It should be noted that the scientific period of studying the flora of Uman began with the research of A. Andrzejowski (1823, 1830). In the middle and second half of the 19th century, information about the city's flora was significantly supplemented by A. Rogovich (1869); L. Holtz (1878–1886); I. Schmalhausen (1886); F. Błoński (1895) and other scientists. The first phytogeographic analysis of wild and cultivated plants in the city of Uman and the "Tsaritsyn Garden" was carried out by I. Pachosky (1887). It was established that at the end of the 19th century, more than 815 species were recorded in the studied urban flora, which makes up 71.6% of the modern taxonomic wealth of the city's flora. The 20th century was marked by the publication of the 12-volume "Flora of the Ukrainian SSR", which included a number of instructions on finds in Uman. In the second half of the 20th and at the beginning of the 21st century aquatic and coastal flora, rare species, ruderalization and phytoinvasions were studied. Origanality. In Ukraine, many urban floras have been studied in most regions to date, but such studies have not been conducted in the Cherkasy Oblast. The results show that the urban flora of Uman is one of the most studied in Ukraine and includes 1140 species and subspecies of higher plants. Considerable attention is paid to the study of the plant cover of the dendrological park "Sofiivka" as an important center for the introduction of alien plants. The main trends in changes in the floristic composition are revealed, in particular, the spread of adventitious species and the disappearance of aboriginal taxa. Promising directions for further research are proposed.