Lemna aequinoctialis migrates further into temperate continental Europe—A new alien aquatic plant for Ukraine

Abstract

The article presents the results of studies of a series of species identifications of the genus Lemna (Lemnaceae) conducted in 2019. Duckweed samples were taken from eight localities in the northern regions of Ukraine and identified to species using morphological and molecular markers (barcoding). A new alien species of duckweed for Ukraine—lesser duckweed (Lemna aequinoctialis Welw.)—was discovered, to which this study is devoted. All other samples belonged to Lemna minor. The article presents the most complete description of the distribution of L. aequinoctialis Welw. in Europe, and also contains updated data on the species distribution of duckweeds in Ukraine. Six species of the genus Lemna are now known in Ukraine—three native and three alien. The ecological requirements of L. aequinoctialis are similar to those of L. minor. We examined the morphological similarities and differences between these species, and confirmed the results by molecular barcoding using the plastid regions of the atpF‐atpH and psbK‐psbI intergenic spacers.

Spatial structure of natural landscapes within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

“…Remote sensing techniques enable a wide range of new options in this area (Skydan et al, 2022b). We have already applied these techniques in the past to monitor the exclusion zone in biodiversity studies, evaluate the effects of fires, create fire hazard forecasts, put out flames, and address other issues (Romanchuck, Fedonyuk and Fedonyuk, 2017;Fedoniuk et al, 2022).…”

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“…The use of GIS in the process of land use regulation in the context of combating problems of environmental safety of land (in particular, soil degradation and erosion, land pollution) is reflected by (Xie, 2022). Integrated GIS and remote sensing work successfully for mapping nature reserve sites, especially fire area and scale analysis, fire research (Skydan, 2021;Fedoniuk, 2022), tracking the spread from multiple plant and animal individuals to species, ecosystems, landscapes, and identifying factors that contribute to local and global biodiversity changes, the spread of invasive species, etc. (Fedoniuk, 2022;Orlov, 2021).…”

“…Integrated GIS and remote sensing work successfully for mapping nature reserve sites, especially fire area and scale analysis, fire research (Skydan, 2021;Fedoniuk, 2022), tracking the spread from multiple plant and animal individuals to species, ecosystems, landscapes, and identifying factors that contribute to local and global biodiversity changes, the spread of invasive species, etc. (Fedoniuk, 2022;Orlov, 2021).…”

Indicative features of macrophyte communities in the assessment of anthropogenic load on aquatic ecosystems

“…(Roth et al, 2020;Orlov et al, 2021;Szpakowska et al, 2021). The rapid growth of duckweed could be a sign that pollution from agriculture and industry is hurting aquatic ecosystems (Fedoniuk et al, 2022).…”