Abstract
AbstractSeveral species of willowherb (Epilobium) are considered as agricultural weeds and their prevalence has become an increasing problem in agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of willowherb plants in the initial stage of vegetation succession a year after the use of glyphosate. The study was based on the examination of thirteen willowherb specimens collected in the apple orchard of 0.2 ha area in August 2008, one month after glyphosate treatment, and vegetation field investigations in the same orchard in July 2009. The coverage of herb layer, the abundance and life stages of Epilobium plants in twenty plots of 1 m2in size were investigated. The specimens of willowherbs, which survived the glyphosate application in 2008, were identified as Epilobium ciliatum and E. tetragonum. A year after the glyphosate treatment, the willowherb plants prevailed in the vegetation. One alien (E. ciliatum) and three native (E. hirsutum, E. parviflorum and E. tetragonum) species of willowherb were found. E. ciliatum was the most abundant. This species was characterized by the highest number of reproductive and virginile plants. E. parviflorum and E. tetragonum plants were abundant with a very high proportion of reproductive plants. Only pre-reproductive plants of E. hirsutum occurred in the study plots. The reproductive plants represented more than one third of the total number of willowherb plants. The distribution patterns of willowherb species in the plots were very variable.
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