Alien plant species and factors of invasiveness of anthropogenic vegetation in the Northwestern Balkans — a phytosociological approach

Abstract

We studied the anthropogenic vegetation of the Northwest Balkans in order to determine its susceptibility to invasion by alien plant species. We compiled a dataset of 3089 vegetation plots sampled between 1939 and 2009, recording a set of variables for each sample plot in order to determine which factors have the most effect on a habitat’s vulnerability to invaders. We calculated the proportion of native species, archaeophytes and neophytes for each plot. We used regression tree models to determine the site conditions of the most invaded anthropogenic habitats. The sample plots contained an average of 12.7% alien plant species, with a low proportion of archaeophytes (4.3%) and 8.4% neophytes. Local habitat conditions proved to have the largest effect, rather than climatic variables or propagule pressure. The proportion of archaeophytes follows a different pattern than that seen in central and northern Europe, indicating that macroecological factors are more important. Neophytes show a similar distribution to other European locations.

Plant invasions in riparian areas of the Middle Danube Basin in Serbia

“…These results align with studies highlighting the role of agriculture in the spread of alien plant species (Osawa et al 2013;González-Moreno et al 2014, 2017 and the fact that the majority of alien plant taxa was introduced to this area as contaminants in seed material and nursery saplings (Anačkov et al 2013). Furthermore, some of the most frequently recorded IAPs in the field are among the most frequent agricultural weeds in SE Europe (Šilc et al 2012;Follak et al 2014;Kröel-Dulay et al 2019), highlighting the importance of agriculture as a source of plant invasions in the Middle Danube Basin area.…”

“…Finally, some of the most frequent IAPs in riparian areas (X. orientale subsp. italicum, E. canadensis, E. crus-galli, Amaranthus retroflexus, A. artemisiifolia) are also widely distributed in ruderal and agricultural areas of the region and spread intensively across the Balkans and SE Europe (Török et al 2003;Weber and Gut 2005;Šilc et al 2012;Kröel-Dulay et al 2019). This could support the invasion of riparian habitats by these species.…”

Alien invasive neophytes of the Southeastern part of the Pannonian Plain

“…It is also important to note the problem in categorization of certain taxa in all countries (and especially those in the Balkan region) that appear in more than one biogeographical unit. This fact was pointed out in a similar study that considered invasive species in anthropogenic vegetation type in the northwestern Balkans [6].…”

Grazed Pannonian grassland beta-diversity changes due to C4 yellow bluestem

“…The coenological role of yellow bluestem will probably change as climate change disturbs the present balance of C 3 /C 4 species. Therefore, studying the ecological behaviour of invasive species remains a hot topic in community ecology [63,64].…”