Occurrence and dynamics of Impatiens parviflora depending on various environmental conditions in the protected areas in Slovakia

Abstract

Biological invasion as one of the main threats to natural ecosystems has big economic impact on conservation of nature. Studies of the population biology of invasive species may allow more precise focus on specific plant and soil characteristics involved in invasiveness. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between selected biological population characteristics of Impatiens parviflora and a few chosen chemical and physical soil features. Sites were selected because of the poor mapping of invasive plants in the protected natural areas and their interactions with specific soil characteristics. Research on I. parviflora was realised during a vegetation season in three forest nature reserves in Prešov district, Slovakia. Some population biological characteristics of I. parviflora as one of the most invasive plant species in Slovakia and Central Europe were surveyed. The correlation between the numbers of plants was analysed, as well as select population biological characteristics of I. parviflora (plant height, width of the largest leaf and the number of flowers/fruits) on some select chemical and physical soil attributes (soil pH, bulk density, porosity and soil moisture) were analysed. The results suggest that biological characteristics of I. parviflora in three different microhabitats – a meadow (a habitat without tree vegetation), a habitat close to the stumps and a habitat under dense tree vegetation seemed to influence the selected soil parameters. Our results showed that I. parviflora prefers acidic and non-compacted soil conditions. Sunlight and soil moisture do not show statistically significant differences on any biological characteristic of the population. The results also suggest that the autecology of I. parviflora in Western and Central Europe is not very well known and deserves further study.

The non-native plant invader in the beech forest does not make nematode communities less structural

“…At present the species is common in riparian forests, oakhornbeam forests, beech woods, acidophilous beech forests, mixed coniferous forests; however, more rarely in pine woods (Chmura and Sierka 2006;Jarčuška et al 2016). Several recent studies by Čuda et al (2014), Quinet et al (2015) and Lanta et al (2022) con rms tolerance and/or adaptability of small balsam to shady habitats, moisture, water stress, temperature and nutrients as well as its preference to acidic and non-compacted soil conditions (Bobuľská et al 2016).…”

Variability of <i>Puccinia komarovii</i> var. <i>komarovii</i> isolates from <i>Impatiens parviflora</i> DC. and its occurrence in the Drawa and Wigry National Parks in Poland

“…However, it should be expected in the future that the rate of invasion of I. parviflora may decrease in our country as a result of occupation of almost the entire ecological niche. e ability of small balsam to tolerate less favorable conditions under a dense tree canopy gives it an advantage over other species (Langmaier & Lapin, 2020;Lanta et al, 2022), although, as noted by Bobulská et al (2016) I. parviflora can also develop in diverse conditions because sunlight and soil moisture do not have a significant impact on its population. It may, therefore, be a threat to the Impatiens noli-tangere, which is more sensitive to conditions and native to Europe, which was noted in Belgium (Godefroid & Koedam, 2010;Vervoort & Jacquemart, 2012).…”

Formation of invasive populations of Impatiens L. in the Moscow region (Central Russia)

“…At the beginning of the 19th century, I. parviflora (figure IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1010/1/012050 2 1 b), an annual plant up to 0.6 m high, also appeared in Europe [2]. Currently, this transforming species forms single-species covers in forests, affects the floristic composition and insect communities in biocenoses, especially in protected areas [5][6][7][8].…”