Distribution of invasive plants in the Nitra river basin: threats and benefits for food production

Alexander Fehér,Peter Zajác,Jozef Čapla,Daniela Halmová,Iveta Fehér Pindešová

doi:10.5219/651

Abstract

Invasive plants are introduced multicellular organisms of the kingdom Plantae, which produce their food by photosynthesis. An invasive plant has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively outside its native range. A naturally aggressive plant may be especially invasive when it is introduced to a new habitat. The basic literature emphasizes mainly the ecological and environmental effects of invasive plants. Impacts of these plants on the food production have never been studied in details. The direct and indirect or potential effects of occurrence of invasive plants on food production have been analysed on basis of published data according to eight selected criteria: food, fodder for animals, food and drink additives, indirect support for food production, weeds on arable lands, meadow weeds, allergenic plants in food and toxic plants. The principal components analysis of habitat preferences of invasive plants in the Nitra river basin showed that the majority of invasive plants growing along rivers is edible (Fallopia spp., Helianthus tuberosus, Impatiens glandulifera) and invasive plants preferring drier agricultural fields or grasslands are toxic and/or allergenic with low or zero level of edibility (Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Heracleum mantegazzianum). The plants living in drier conditions may produce more toxins to protect the sources (eg. water) in their tissues than plants near water flows where there is abundance of sources.

Highlights

Biological invasions are mostly understood as the dissemination of non-native plant species in new areas
The direct and indirect or potential effects of occurance of observed invasive plants on food production were analysed on basis of published data according to 8 selected criteria: food, fodder for animals, food and drink additives, indirect support for food production, weeds on arable lands, meadow weeds, allergenic plants in food and toxic plants
We found that all identified invasive plants influence food production (Figure 1 – 7 and Table 1)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Biological invasions are mostly understood as the dissemination of non-native plant species in new areas. We consider ‘invasive’ plants alien species in accordance with the Slovak legislation valid in time of our study (the Proclamation of the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic No 173/2011). The basic literature emphasizes mainly the ecological and environmental effects of invasive plants (Genovesi, Shine, 2004) but their impacts on food production have never been studied in details (no summary exists). Our goal was to monitor, in the studied area (Nitra river basin, SW Slovakia), the number of localities of selected invasive plant species and to evaluate the effect of different invasive species on food production, including their positive and negative externalities. The direct and indirect or potential effects of occurance of observed invasive plants on food production were analysed on basis of published data according to 8 selected criteria: food (edible plants or edible parts of plants), fodder for animals (forage), food and drink additives (spicy plants, therapeutic plants, tea herbs), indirect support for food production (e.g. melliferous plants), weeds on arable lands (competition with food plants), meadow weeds (competition with fodder plants), allergenic plants in food and toxic plants

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

33-39. ISBN 80-86726-13-4