PAN Botanical Garden - Center for the Preservation of Biodiversity in Powsin operates on the basis of the Act of April 30, 2010 on the Polish Academy of Sciences (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1869, as amended), the Statute of the Polish Academy of Sciences adopted by Resolution No. 8/2010 of the General Assembly of the Polish Academy of Sciences of November 24, 2010. approved by the President of the Council of Ministers; Decision No. 51/74 of the Presidium of the Government of May 3, 1974 on ensuring the conditions for operation and development of the Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences; Resolution No. 12/95 of the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences of December 4, 1995 on the establishment of the Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences; and statute. In addition, it conducts its activities on the basis of Decision No. DOPog-4210-31-8089/05/kl of the Minister of the Environment dated February 3, 2006, and in accordance with the provisions of Article 67 (1) of the Law on Nature Protection dated April 16, 2004. 

The object of the Botanical Garden is to conduct scientific research in the fields of experimental and applied botany, plant biotechnology and genetics, applied ecology, broadly defined nature conservation and biodiversity, environmental protection and popularization of natural knowledge.

The tasks of the Garden include, in particular, the establishment and maintenance of plant collections and the maintenance and development of a seed bank; conducting scientific research in the biological basis of biodiversity conservation at the genetic, population, species and ecosystem level and environmental protection, training of scientific workers and specialists with special qualifications in botany, genetics, biotechnology, ecology and horticulture; Conducting didactic activities for university students and educational activities for elementary and secondary school students in botany, genetics and biotechnology of plants, horticulture, and ecology and environmental protection; disseminating knowledge in the field of natural, agricultural and forestry sciences, especially issues related to the use of plants by man and the problems of threat and protection of nature and the environment; making arranged plant collections, expositions and exhibitions available to the public for popularization and education, as well as recreational and cultural purposes. Detailed information on the unit's activities is available in annual reports.

Activity report for the year:

2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

History

Attempts to establish a large modern botanical garden in Warsaw, complementing the old and space-limited botanical garden in the center of the capital in the vicinity of the Royal Baths, were already made in the interwar period by Professors Boleslaw Hryniewiecki and Roman Kobendza - in charge of the Botanical Garden of Warsaw University, and then in the following years after the war. The southern outskirts of Warsaw in the area of the Kabaty Forest were always proposed as the best site. 

The breakthrough came in 1970, when the Polish Academy of Sciences decided to create a special unit to prepare plans, scientific infrastructure and staff for the future botanical garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences, which, according to the original plans, was to be established between Powsin and Klarysew on the upper and lower terraces of the Warsaw escarpment. 

This task was entrusted to the Crop Genetic Resources Unit (GGRU) at the Department of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, located at the Genetic Research Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Skierniewice. Within 4 years, the first research laboratories, a library, a seed bank and the first research and horticultural collections were organized, including a large Collection of rye gene resources and ornamental plants, along with a collection of plants grown in greenhouses. In addition, the laboratory employed about 20 people conducting research and working on detailed plans for the botanical garden being created. 

This gave rise to a decision by the Presidium of the Government of the People's Republic of Poland and the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences to establish the Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences as a new independent auxiliary scientific and research institution, effective July 1, 1974. Dr. Boguslaw Molski was appointed director.

In 1976-1977, 40 hectares of land in the Klarysewo area on the upper terrace of the Warsaw escarpment in the vicinity of the Park of Culture in Powsin were purchased as the first stage of construction of the Garden's more than 250 hectares planned. At that time, adaptive repairs were made to the acquired buildings from the Janówek and Pokerówek estates and the development of the land began, planting plants, including specimens of old varieties and many exotics, rarely displayed in other Polish botanical gardens or revitalizing the existing post-farm plantings.

In March 1989, Prof. Jerzy Puchalski (then Ph.D.) took over as director after the death of Prof. Boguslaw Molski. From the beginning, large-scale international cooperation was developed. Scientific research was conducted on cultivated species, as well as rare and declining species. In the 1980s, the Garden established the world's largest rye gene bank. Attempts were made to breed varieties of edible lupine and new varieties of limber for large-scale industrial areas. In 1992, a cryogenic seed bank, unique in Europe, was created for native species of Poland's natural flora, mainly rare plants (e.g. endemics and relicts), protected and threatened with extinction in natural sites.

The garden was opened to the public on May 12, 1990, and five years later the Nature and Ecology Education Center began operating, and an ornamental perennial garden was established. In 1998, the creation of a rosarium began, which ten years later won the honorable title of national collection. The year 2003 brought the opening of the largest garden of mountain plants in the Polish lowlands for the flora of the Polish part of the Carpathian Mountains (mainly the Tatra Mountains, the Pieniny and the Bieszczady Mountains) and a large exhibition greenhouse with a total area of 2,200 square meters with a hothouse, a collection of tropical and subtropical plants, cacti and succulents and useful plants of Mediterranean flora. Many collections of ground plants were also systematically expanded, including mainly woody plants in the arboretum (heath plants - rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers and heathers, as well as magnolias and species and varieties of coniferous trees and shrubs). Rich collections of bulbous ornamental plants have also been gathered, including tulips, lilies, lilacs and scyphomas. A Collection of rare, protected and endangered plants of the flora of Poland has also been established, as well as a Collection of rare and little-known vegetable plants and an Herb Collection of medicinal and spice plants. A pomological orchard was also established with old (historical) varieties of apple trees cultivated in Polish lands since the late 16th century. 

In 2011, the Garden was transformed into an auxiliary scientific unit directly subordinate to the Polish Academy of Sciences and was renamed "Polish Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden - Center for the Preservation of Biodiversity in Powsin". In 2014, the 40th anniversary of the Garden's establishment as an independent scientific institution was solemnly celebrated during the conference "Poland's Biodiversity and the Global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 - new challenges and tasks for botanical gardens and gene banks". A year later - on May 15, 2015 - as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Garden's opening to the public, a monument was unveiled in memory of professors: Roman Kobendza, Boguslaw Molski, Szczepan A. Pieniążek and Emil Nalborczyk.

In 2017, with the appointment of Dr. Pawel Kojs as director, the next stage of the institution's development began, including, among other things, the reconstruction of the field and greenhouse collections and a change in the administrative structure adapted to the current needs and requirements of both staff and visitors to the Botanical Garden.

In 2021, Prof. Arkadiusz Nowak took over as director.