Abstract
The assessment of invasive terrestrial plant species in the Romanian protected areas is an important research direction, especially since the adventive species have become biological hazards with significant impacts on biodiversity. Due to limited resources being available for the control of the invasive plants, the modelling of the spatial potential distribution is particularly useful in order to find the best measures to eliminate them or prevent their introduction and spread, as well as including them in the management plans of protected areas. Thus, the present paper aims to assess one of the most disturbing invasive terrestrial plant species in Europe – A.fruticosa in one of the most important natural protected area in Romania, i.e. Mureş Floodplain Natural Park (V IUCN category and RAMSAR –Wetlands of International Importance). The current study is a geographical approach seeking to explain the spatial relationships between this invasive species and several explanatory factors (soil type, depth to water, vegetation cover, forest fragmentation and distance to near waters, roads and settlements) and to assess its potential distribution by integrating GIS and logistic regression into spatial simulation. The resultant probability map can be used by the park’s administration in implementing the Management Plan in terms of identifying the areas with the highest occurrence potential of A.fruticosa according to the primary habitats and ecosystems and setting up actions for its eradication/limitation.
Highlights
The current study aims to explain the relationships between A. fruticosa occurrence and its explanatory driving forces, on one hand and to model the probability of the potential distribution using spatial analysis and binary logistic regression (BLR), on the other
The frequency analysis (Fig. 4) shows that A. fruticosa occurs in various conditions but with differences mainly according to the soil type, vegetation cover and distance to roads
The frequency of species related to distance to nearest roads, calculated for 0.1 km buffer rings, shows that 68% of the mapped area is identified in the first 0.1 km and 91% in the first 0.2 km
Summary
Invasive species are acknowledged as economic, environmental or social threats (Charles and Dukes 2006; Bailey et al 2007; Mcgeochm et al 2010), becoming key components of global change (Shea and Chesson 2002; Arim et al 2006) through their high adaptive capacity which enables them to penetrate natural geographic barriers or political boundaries (Richardson et al 2000; Anastasiu and Negrean 2005; Anastasiu et al 2008; Andreu and Vila 2010). Invasive species are characterised by remarkable spatio-temporal dynamics, becoming successfully established and spread over extended areas in Europe, triggering significant environmental and socioeconomic damages (Pyšek and Hume 2005; Lambdon et al 2008). It is estimated that only 0.1% of the introduced species became invasive (Williamson 1996). At European level, in the last two centuries, an increasing number of species have become capable of spreading on an annual average of 6.2 neophytes (Lambdon et al 2008, Pyšek et al 2009). In particular, biological invasions are disturbing drivers for ecosystem functioning and structure, as well as for species, species communities or habitats (De Poorter et al 2007). The site features that have been associated with invasibility include both environmental and anthropogenic factors such as disturbance (Almasi 2000; Silveri et al 2001), proximity to roads (Harrison et al 2002), soil nutrients, topographic position and forest fragmentation (Brothers and Spingarn 1992; Cadanasso and Pickett 2001, Mortensen et al 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
