Many species from the family Orchidaceae spread in anthropogenic habitats and numerous studies documenting this process are known. Unfortunately, such data are scattered throughout various papers and reports, sometimes fragmentary and hard to reach (the 'grey literature'). Scientific elaboration on this topic still lacks a comprehensive review and summary of the scale of this phenomenon. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to gather, review and analyse such data, seeking the answer to the question whether the man-made habitats can be considered as refugee for orchids. The paper summarises data on the occurrence of orchid species in man-made habitats in Europe originating from published and unpublished sources. The particular emphasis was placed in urban habitats. For this purpose, the floristically data from 42 European cities were used. The conducted studies showed that the apohytism phenomenon in the family Orchidaceae was more widespread than had been previously reported. As a result, 70 species of orchids in the distinguished man-made habitats were found. The majority of the species grow on sand and clay pits. The most common species were Epipactis helleborine and Dactylorhiza majalis. The gathered data have confirmed that man-made habitats become refugee for many orchid species in the aftermath of the loss of their natural habitats. Thus, protection of sites transformed by man with orchid occurrence should be taken into consideration. These sites can become a source of very useful information for biogeographically and phylo-geographically analyses of many valuable and endangered species.
Due to the relevance of protected areas to the conservation of native biota, the magnitude of invasions and threats posed by alien plants are currently important issues for the preservation of these areas. The paper summarises data on invasive alien plant species presence in the most valuable protected areas in Poland, i.e. national parks (NPs). We investigated the distribution of invasive alien plant species and management attempts concerning those species. We analysed data obtained from 23 national parks originating from published and unpublished sources. Invasive plants were present in all protected areas analysed, from two to 42 species in a particular national park, and 68 in total. The most widely distributed species were: Impatiens parviflora (present in 19 NPs), I. glandulifera (17), Solidago gigantea (17), Reynoutria japonica (17), and Robinia pseudoacacia (16). The conducted analyses showed that the number of invasive species decreased with the higher altitude (asl) of the national park. The most often managed species were Impatiens glandulifera (being removed in seven NPs), I. parviflora (six), Padus serotina (four) and Quercus rubra (four). In the majority of NPs, control activities are limited to small areas and singular species, thus having an incidental character. Only in five objects (Białowieża NP, Biebrza NP, Kampinos NP, Tuchola NP, Wigry NP), management has been focused on several species. We conclude that a lack of comprehensive management of invasive plant species in the majority of national parks currently limits the effectiveness of IAS (invasive alien species) eradication. Exchange of expertise among protected areas, documenting best practice examples, synthesising lessons learnt in IAS management, as well as the development of minimum standards for invasive plants surveillance and management are pivotal.
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