An analysis of research into urban flora and vegetation in Southeast Europe

Abstract

In the last two decades, the number of research articles with a focus on urban ecosystems in Europe has increased significantly. However, explored cities are very unevenly distributed, and most of the studies are focused on Central Europe. The aim of this analysis was to provide a realistic insight into the results of previous research on urban flora and vegetation in Southeast Europe. The analysis covers a total of 149 articles, which are classified according to the topic and concept of research. The rates of exploration of urban flora and vegetation vary considerably across the countries of Southeast Europe. The floristic approach was the most common in most of the countries. Although some countries of Southeast Europe have a significant number of floristic studies (e.g. Serbia and Croatia with more than 20 of each country), their urban flora is still insufficiently explored compared to other European regions. Also, the use of different methodologies makes it impossible to compare results in an adequate way and draw relevant conclusions. Unlike the studies in most of Europe, with a broader spatial framework and uniform methodology, in Southeast Europe they usually referred to individual cities, specific habitats or certain parts of the cities. Hence, including Southeast Europe in large-scale studies would be beneficial.

Influence of Habitat Types on Diversity and Species Composition of Urban Flora—A Case Study in Serbia

“…There are a number of reasons why urban flora research is attracting increasing attention: most of Europe's human population lives in urban areas [22]; the plants of urban habitats contribute to ecosystem services and affect the citizens' well-being [15,23]; urban areas can be centers for the spread of allochthonous plant species to neighboring territories [8,24]; and urban habitats can serve as a refugia for plant species, even those considered rare or endangered [11]. The number of studies dealing with urban flora has increased considerably in recent decades [25]. Comparative studies of urban flora in large areas and the implementation of standardized sampling protocols made a great contribution to the understanding of the distribution and ecology of plants in central European cities [5,6,12,[26][27][28][29], indicating striking differences between urban habitats in terms of plant species diversity, induced by the types of urban habitats, climate, and specific spatial patterns [26,30,31].…”

“…For example, diversity of plant species in urban habitats in Southern Europe is greater compared to the parts of Central Europe with a different climate [30]. In addition, the urban flora of Southeastern Europe is poorly studied compared to other parts of Europe, with previous studies often focusing on individual cities or specific urban habitats within them [25]. Comparative and comprehensive studies of urban flora in SE Europe are particularly rare and are not based on standardized sampling methods, rather on a comparison of existing data [32].…”

Biodiversity in Urban Areas: The Extraordinary Case of Appia Antica Regional Park (Rome, Italy)

“…The families rich in alien species include Asteraceae (10 taxa), followed by Poaceae and Amaranthaceae Juss. (7), Fabaceae (5), Rosaceae and Solanaceae Juss. (4), Araceae Juss., Asparagaceae Juss., Convolvulaceae Juss., Moraceae Gausich., and Oxalidaceae (3), and Apocynaceae Juss., Arecaceae Bercht.…”

“…Urban areas are "hotspots" of biological invasions, being not only key points of entry for many non-native species, but also playing an important role in the secondary spread of aliens towards surrounding territories, i.e., rural or natural landscapes [3,7]. However, at the same time, urban parks and natural areas in cities are important as detailed-scale biodiversity hotspots [8].…”

Annual and biennial invasive species in the flora of Ivanovo

“…Бралгиной для городов Удмуртии разработана классификация групп местообитаний растений, всего было выделено 7 классов естественных и полуестественных местообитаний и 9 классов антропогенно-трансформированных местообитаний [3]. Комплексное изучение флоры городских экосистем, прогнозирование тенденций их изменения и развития проводятся в разных регионах, приобретает особую актуальность как в нашей стране [4][5][6][7][8], так и за рубежом [9][10][11][12]. В формировании городских флор большое значение принадлежит чужеродным видам растений, появление которых связано с деятельностью человека.…”