The newspaper "For Science" published an article about a large-scale scientific study being conducted by a young scientist from Altai State University (ASU). Elizaveta Tankova, a lecturer in the Department of Botany and a graduate student in the Institute of Biology and Biotechnology at ASU, has been studying Barnaul's flora for the period of nearly three centuries; the results of this work will form the basis for her dissertation.

Elizaveta examines how the city's flora has changed over nearly 300 years—since its founding in 1730. In her work, she draws on a variety of sources: archival data and old maps, herbarium collections (including digitized collections from Moscow and St. Petersburg), and open data from the iNaturalist platform, where nature researchers have collected over 12,000 observations of Barnaul's plants.

The study revealed interesting features of the city's flora. Barnaul boasts approximately 900 plant species—sometimes its urban flora is even more diverse than the natural ecosystems of the same zone. This diversity includes native species alongside alien and cultivated plants that "escape from cultivation," such as apple trees, elms, and lilies of the valley.

The unique diversity of the flora stems from the landscape's features: the Ob River's banks with their steppe slopes, ribbon-like pine forests, and the floodplains of small rivers, which create a multitude of diverse ecological niches within the city limits. However, some unique sites have already disappeared—for example, Moss Bog, where Viktor Vereshchagin collected plants in the early 19th century. It was located near modern residential complexes on the Mountain, but today it no longer exists, along with its unique plant community. Among the unexpected finds was a Red Data Book species recently discovered near Yubileiny Park: the marsh calla (Calla palustris) grows in the middle of the metropolis, next to high-rise buildings and busy highways.

Another important research topic is the spread of invasive species. For example, box elder, once planted to protect soil from wind erosion, has become naturalized over time and begun to displace native species. It is listed in the "Black Book of Flora," and eradicating such plants is difficult, especially if they are woody and formally protected.

In her research, Elizaveta Tankova pays special attention to cultivated flora—plants grown and introduced by humans. Historically, this flora developed alongside the first gardens and vegetable plots in Barnaul, but its composition in the city has not yet been studied. The project's scientific director is Doctor of Biological Sciences Marina Silantyeva, Head of the Department of Botany at Altai State University.