Abstract
This article examines the environmental problems of the cities of Kazakhstan, using the example of the Almaty metropolis, where, with the development of the urbanization process, the natural environment in cities is changing very much, which is characterized by a specific ecological environment with a special type of circulation of substances and energy, not typical of natural communities. The importance of green spaces in urbanized areas is very difficult to overestimate. Green plants play a major role in protecting the population of large cities from dust, smoke and harmful gases. In the city of Almaty, more than 70 species of trees and shrubs were introduced into production recommended by the botanical garden. Of the trees, these are Phellodendron amurense, Faidherbia albida, Crataegus sanguinea, Crataegus maximowiczii, Crataegus submollis, Crataegus punctata, Crataegus chrysocarpa, Ulmus laevis, Ulmus glabra, Gleditsia triacanthos, Catalpa bignonioides, Aesculus hippocastanum, Acer ginnala, Acer platanoide s, Acer saccharum, Juniperus virginiana, Juglans mandshurica, Padus maackii, from shrubs - Amorpha fruticosa, Swida alba, Syringa josikaea, Spiraea vanhouttei, Spiraea thunbergii, Spiraea japonica and others. A detailed floristic analysis of the tree and shrub flora of the city of Almaty showed that green spaces are represented by 208 species belonging to 58 genera and 34 families. Among tree and shrub species, 54 species (20%) represent the natural flora of Kazakhstan (9 coniferous and 45 deciduous species) from 13 genera and 9 families, and 154 species (80%) are introduced species, i.e. plants grown in soil outside their natural distribution range.