Expansion of Acer negundo L. in the forest parks of Yekaterinburg

Abstract

The article studies the adaptive mechanism of the distribution of Acer negundo L. on the example of habitats in the Southwestern forest park based on population (age and vitality structure) and organismal parameters (morphometric indicators). An assessment of the invasive potential made it possible to establish similar features of the introduction of the ash-leaved maple in any of its habitats. All fragments of the cenopopulation were at the initial stage of introduction and began their expansion from open spaces, well settling in forest ecosystems, mainly in forb and horsetail-forb pine forests with a tree canopy density of 0.4–0.5. This trend of conquest of the territory by the “aggressor” species continues at the present time, and it can be said with confidence that this situation is typical for many regions of Russia, therefore, it is necessary to monitor the state of ecosystems.