Alien Vascular Plant Research Articles

Attributive analysis of the anthropophytes fraction as part of the urban flora of Kyiv urban area (the degree of naturalization, invasive status, threat assessment for local ecosystems and biotic diversity)

International ecological scientific community pays special attention to urbanized territories as separate locations of alien invasive species of biota. The results of the attributive analysis of the structure of the alien fraction of KUA flora according to three current European categories are presented. The basis of the analysis is the final list of alien vascular plants of KUA flora, which contains 718 species. 166 taxa of alien vascular plants that immigrated to KUA from 2003 to 2023 were added to the list. It was found that the degree of naturalization of immigrant species is dominated by casual alien species, which make up 59.0% of the taxonomic composition of the fraction. Species that are elements of man-make environments reach 35.5%. At the same time, alien species that grow and persist for a long time in natural habitats, including protected areas, do not exceed 5.0%. According to the categories of invasive activity, there are species that are naturalized and do not show a tendency to invasions — 32.0%. The most dangerous among invasive plants are transformer species, represented by 2.5%, actual invasive species — 4.0%, potentially invasive species — 2.0%. Based on the «Classification of alien species according to their impact on the environment», adapted by the IUCN: the massive impact is 1.5% of the total number and 4.0% of the number of naturalized ones; accordingly, the major impact — 2.2% (5.4%); the moderate impact — 5.2% (11.2%); the minor impact — 28.1% (68.6%); the minimal impact — 4.2% (10.8%). Based on the results of screening the negative effects of invasive species on the environment, examples of threats are given. This is competition for natural resources, displacement of native plant species; penetration into forests of plants whose climamorphotypes are absent in local forest ecosystems (tree vines), etc. Threatening cases of spontaneous hybridization of immigrant species with local species and with each other have been identified (repeated occurrences in the genera Bidens L., Populus L., Reynoutria Houtt., etc.). The need for an experimental study of the chemical and physical negative effects of invasive plants on local species of biota and human health is indicated. It is noted that the flora of KUA, on the background of the flora of Europe, is currently uniformly affected by phytoinvasions as an urbanized spatial unit of Ukraine.

Findings and New Locations of Alien Vascular Plant Species in the South of Primorsky Krai

Findings and New Locations of Alien Vascular Plant Species in the South of Primorsky Krai

Attributive analysis of the anthropophytes fraction as a part of the urban flora of Kyiv urban area (climamorphotype, residence time category, pathway of introduction into Ukraine and geographical origin)

The significant global growth of invasions, distribution and naturalization of alien vascular plants requires clear knowledge about the volume, taxonomic and typological diversity of plant invasions in Ukraine in order to control and contain them. The screening of four features of the fraction of alien species of urban flora of the KUA is outlined: climamorphotype, time, way of immigration, and geographic spread. According to our data, the taxonomic diversity of the fraction is high. The alien flora of Kyiv urban area is 711species-level taxa recruited from 358 genera, 95 families, 6 classes, and 3 divisions. Attributive analysis relies on categories of invasive botany. The climamorphotype is represented by fanerophytes — 127 species, 18% or the total amount, hamephytes — 13 (1.8%), hemicryptophytes — 83 (11.7%), cryptophytes — 79 (11.1%), terrophytes — 389 (55%) and hydrophytes — 9 (1.3%,) other categories — 10 species. According to the time of immigration, the following are present: archaeophytes — 112 species, 16% or the total amount, kenophytes — 194 (27%) and eukenophytes — 404 (57%) and not determined one taxa. According to the method of immigration, the fraction contains acolytophytes — 149 species, 21% or the total amount, ergasiophytes — 331 (46.6%), xenophytes — 201 (28.4%) and xeno-ergasiophytes — 28 (3.9%) and 2 others. The trend of increasing the role of immigrants-ergasiophytes — «escaped plants» — has been noted. Screening of geographic origin records wide spatial amplitude: immigrant plants from five continents are present. Immigrants of Mediterranean origin dominate — 230 species, 32% or the total amount, American 179 (25%), and Asian 154 (24%), represented equally, European — 51 (7%). The geographical origin was not revealed for 38 species, 5%. Attention is drawn to "species of anthropogenic origin" (23 species, 3%), as well as the high presence of hybrid combinations at the species level — 16 hybrids, 2%, etc. The growth trends of the participation of American and East Asian immigrant species in the urban flora of KUA, predicted at the beginning of the 2000s, have been confirmed. In general, the taxonomically rich fraction of anthropophytes of the urban flora of KUA, according to the screening results, demonstrates a variety of typological features. However, each of the specified properties requires constant, detailed study for the purpose of reliable monitoring of plant invasions.

New and rare alien vascular plants for Republic of Karelia

New and rare alien vascular plants for Republic of Karelia

THE ALIEN FLORA OF THE NATIONAL NATURE PARK «VYZHNYTSKYI»

List of the alien vascular plant species of the National Nature Park «Vyzhnytskyi» are specified. For the beginning of 2024, it counts 125 species, 101 genera and 38 families. Over last 18 years, this list enriched by 49 alien species. The analysis by taxonomy, life forms, temporal elements, and origin are carried out. Habitat preferences and peculiarities of naturalization are established. Within all alien species, kenophytes of North American origin prevail; within archaeophytes Mediterranean species prevail. According to the degree of naturalization, 90.0% of archaeophytes and 84.1% of kenophytes belong to the group of epoecophytes, confined to anthropogenic habitats. So, natural biotopes of the NPP are resistant to the process of adventitization, alien plants spread mostly in synanthropic habitats, which area is insignificant (2,65 ha). According to the «National Habitat Catalogue of Ukraine» (2018), 103 alien species are occurred in 18 habitats oh the 4th level, 4 habitats are synanthropic. In study area, alien plant species are listed for 7 habitat types from Natura 2000 and 7 habitats from Resolution 4 of the Bern Convention. The most invasiables is a habitat 6510 Lowland hay meadows (Alopecurus pratensis, Sanguisorba officinalis) with 16 alien species, but these species (except of Lupinus polyphyllus and Narcissus poëticus), occur as a single individuals and do not cause changes in a community structure. For the habitat 6430 Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels, 5 alien vascular species are listed, for the habitat 3230 Alpine rivers and their ligneous vegetation with Myricaria germanica – 4 species, for the habitat 3270 Rivers with muddy banks with Chenopodion rubri p.p. and Bidention p.p. vegetation– 2, in forest habitats 91E0, 9110 and 9130 – 1 species each in the herbal layer. Among 125 alien species, 26 belong to the group of high-active invasive plants in Ukraine, 2 of them impact plant cover on stude area significantly: Quercus rubra and Lupinus polyphyllus. Key words: alien plants, National Nature Park «Vyzhnytskyi», Chernivtsi region.

There is room for everyone: Invasion credit cannot be inferred from the species–area relationship in fragmented forests

AbstractQuestionsLand use change, habitat fragmentation and biological invasion represent major drivers of global change that strongly interact to alter ecosystems. Following the breaking apart of forests into smaller fragments or the afforestation of former agricultural lands, biodiversity experiences drastic changes due to species loss and turnover over time. This leads to two important outcomes, namely extinction debt and invasion (colonization) credit, which both reflect the inertia of the system's response to environmental changes. Our study investigated the following questions: Is it possible to infer invasion credit from species–area relationship (SAR) residuals both for native and alien plants? Is there any trend linked with the degree of habitat fragmentation through time? LocationSomme, Oise and Aisne departments, northern France.MethodsWe analyzed the pattern of SARs' residuals for native and alien vascular plant species separately across nine sets of forest fragments that differ by the landscape matrix they are embedded in (i.e., open field, bocage, forest), while considering plant richness, area and age of the 355 forest patches.ResultsThe relationship between alien and native SARs’ residuals is positive across all landscapes, suggesting a lack of invasion credit. Instead, these results support the “rich get richer” hypothesis, that is a high environmental heterogeneity allows colonization by new species, be they native or alien. Interestingly, the relationship between alien and native residuals depends upon fragment age (i.e., time since patch creation) in the most intensively managed landscapes (i.e., open fields). In the latter, recent forest patches are more prone to alien invasion, as a likely consequence of increased alien propagule pressure (i.e., more sources and vectors for alien plants), increased forest invasibility (i.e., disturbance‐induced environmental heterogeneity), and decreased matrix permeability (i.e., natives are more dispersal‐limited than aliens).ConclusionsOur study provides new insights into alien species ecology, by showing that (i) it is not possible to infer “invasion credit” from the SAR's residuals; (ii) the invasion rate by alien species in forest fragments increases with their native species richness, and (iii) this relationship depends upon patch age in intensively managed landscapes.

The spread of alien vascular plant species in the biotopes of the Moshnohirsky Ridge (Cherkasy region, Ukraine)

Invasion of organisms pose a potential threat to the existence of natural habitats and lead to impoverishment of biological diversity. Particularly pronounced is the negative impact within the boundaries of the Middle Dnieper region, where approximately a quarter of vascular plant species are of alien origin. The purpose of the study was to identify the current species composition of alien vascular plant species, the specific features of their distribution outside the culture, naturalisation, and involvement in plant communities of Moshnohirsky Ridge biotopes. The species composition of plants was recorded by transects and releves in the habitats of representatives of alien plant species were conducted to achieve this goal. It was determined that the vegetation cover of forest and related biotopes in the research area is significantly contaminated with alien vascular plant species, amounting to 48 species from 45 genera and 29 families. Substantial involvement of alien species is noted in Forest biotopes of hornbeam-oak forests – 35.4%, and oak and pine-oak forests – 29.2%. Among the alien species that have a substantial impact on the structure of plant communities of these broad-leaved forest biotopes are Impatiens parviflora DC., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Acer negundo L. Over time, the majority of introduced species are considered neophytes (81.3%), with a significant portion originating from North America (43.8%), the Mediterranean region (16.7%), and East Asia (8.3%). In terms of their penetration into natural ecosystems, species that are capable of actively integrating into natural communities, namely agriophytes and agriocoenophytes, hold high positions (a total of 30.2%). In contrast to these groups, limited alien species without active distribution – ephemerophytes and colonophytes are substantially represented in the groupings of the research area (30.6%). The identified patterns of distribution and cenotic distribution of alien species are the primary basis for the formation of optimal measures to counteract new invasions in forest communities and restrain the process of population compaction for species that already have a wide distribution within the research area

Temporal trends in the accumulation of alien vascular plant species through intentional and unintentional introductions in Japan

Clarifying the temporal trends of alien plant accumulation is increasingly important for informing global and national management efforts to decelerate biological invasions, following the adoption of Target 6 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. However, such trends have not yet been analysed in many countries including Japan, which has the highest number of naturalised alien plant species among islands. To clarify the past and recent trends in the accumulation of alien plant species in Japan, we compiled a dataset of the year of first record for 1,463 alien vascular plant species deliberately and accidentally introduced and analysed the changes in the annual number of first records over time for each overall, intentional and unintentional introductions. We found that, overall, the annual number of first records of alien plant species in Japan began to increase in the late 1800s, and the increase continued until the late 1950s, with an estimated maximum of 15.7 new species per year. The increase then halted by 1960 and began a slow decline; the estimated average records per year between 1991 and 2000 dropped to 13.3 species. Since 1900, the annual number of first records associated with intentional introductions has more than doubled the number linked to unintentional introductions. Additionally, the proportion of invasive species brought through intentional introductions was larger than that brought through unintentional introductions. We highlight that while Japan experienced a rapid accumulation of alien plant species, including invasive species, by the 1950s, the rate of accumulation showed signs of saturation by 1960 and has since been slowly declining. Further deceleration and prevention of the introduction of invasive alien species, as targeted in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, may be achieved through increased investment in pathway management, especially management of intentional pathways.

Checklist of Alien Vascular Plants of Hungary and Their Invasion Biological Characteristics

As part of the PADAPT project, the authors compiled the invasion biological database of the alien vascular flora of Hungary, which contains the nativeness, residence time, introduc- tion mode and invasion status of 878 alien or cryptogenic taxa. In the absence of adequate evidence, the classification of some species was only possible into uncertain, transitional cat- egories. The definitions of most categories are compatible with several international termi- nologies, but are primarily based on Central European traditions. Of the 560 taxa that have already been naturalised in Hungary, 85 are invasive, and 22 of them are transformer alien vascular plants. Only 5 of these transformers are included in the European list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (Ailanthus altissima, Asclepias syriaca, Elodea nuttallii, Heracleum mantegazzianum and H. sosnowskyi), which require uniform preventive interventions and treatments throughout the continent, while the rest of transformers in Hungary (e.g., Robinia pseudoacacia, Fallopia × bohemica and Solidago gigantea) draw attention to the unique, local and/ or regional invasion biological situation of the Pannonian Basin and Central Europe.

New alien vascular plants of Slovakia: records from 2008–2021

New alien vascular plants of Slovakia: records from 2008–2021

New alien vascular plants at Eastern Chukotka, Russia (Provideniya Village)

It is reported about the finding of 29 alien species in the Provideniya Village (Providenskiy District, Chukotskiy Avtonomniy Okrug) and its neighborhood in 2021. The 17 species of these were not previously indicated for Chukotka, Alchemilla breviloba was first collected in the Russian Far East. Dianthus superbus and Galium uliginosumwere found for the first time in the northern part of the Far East. A feature of the alien flora of the Provideniya Village is numerous species rare not only for Chukotka, but also for more southern regions. The main habitat of alien species is an abandoned farm.

The first checklist of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan, with new records and critical evaluation of earlier data. Contribution 2.

BackgroundWe continue the inventory of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan, with emphasis on the time and pathways of introduction of the species and their current status in the territory. Each taxon is discussed in the context of plant invasions in Central Asia. This work is a further development of the preliminary checklist of alien plants of Kyrgyzstan, which was compiled for the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species in 2018.New informationThis contribution includes all alien species of Kyrgyzstan belonging to Solanaceae and Asphodelaceae and one species of Asteraceae. Physalisphiladelphicus (syn. P.ixocarpa) is reported for the first time from Central Asia, as new to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, thus marking a recent invasion with a variety of imported grain and seed material. The old records of P.ixocarpa from Uzbekistan are based on misidentified specimens of P.angulata. Physalisangulata is an old cotton immigrant in Central Asia, whose invasion started in the 1920s; it is excluded from the alien flora of Kyrgyzstan as registered in error on the basis of cultivated plants. Alkekengiofficinarum is an archaeophyte of the Neolithic period in Central Asia, formerly used for food, now strongly declining and largely casual in Kyrgyzstan. The only historical record of Physalisviscosa from Uzbekistan was based on a technical error and belongs to A.officinarum. Daturastramonium and Hyoscyamusniger were introduced as medicinal plants during the period of the Arabic invasion of Central Asia, by the 11th century. Daturainnoxia is a newly recorded casual alien, recently escaped from ornamental cultivation. Nicandraphysalodes is a casual alien, which was cultivated by Russian colonists in the early 20th century for culinary use and is currently used in ornamental cultivation. Hemerocallisfulva was a remnant of historical cultivation in the former Khanate of Buxoro, and its formerly established colonies are presumably extinct in the wild. Bidensfrondosa was seemingly introduced with contaminated forage and seed of American origin during the late Soviet period and started to spread in the period of independence; its invasion in the former USSR is analysed.

Türkiye’nin Yabancı Florasına Bir Katkı: Impatiens glandulifera Royle (Balsaminaceae)

During a few decades, rapidly increasing number of studies have documented about the spread and expansion of alien plant species all over the world. These species are either introduced intentionally or unintentionally outside of their natural ranges. Impatiens glandulifera Royle (Balsaminaceae) introduced in Europe intentionally as garden and nectar-producing plant but later it was spread and became a highly invasive annual species in many parts of Europe. This species was collected from outside of gardens in two close localities in Giresun (Turkey). So, we reported it as a new alien vascular plant for the Flora of Turkey. As well, the description together with Turkish name and photographs of the taxon are presented in the present study.

Alien flora of Oman: invasion status, taxonomic composition, habitats, origin, and pathways of introduction

We present the first inventory and status assessment of the alien flora of Oman, mainly based on field data collected from 1998 to 2021. The study provides (i) a comprehensive account of alien vascular plant species occurring in the wild in Oman, with information on their taxonomic composition. For each species information is given on (ii) invasion status (casual, naturalized or invasive), biogeography, habitat and life-form characteristics, and pathways of introduction. Further, we (iii) explain the differences in the alien species composition in different parts of the country, and (iv) analyse the drivers of plant invasions in Oman. Out of the 111 alien species reported (7.7% of the total Oman vascular flora), 34 species are casuals and 77 naturalized; of the latter seven are considered invasive. The moderate number of alien plant species is likely a result of the country’s arid climate, with extremely high summer temperatures and low annual precipitation in most of its area, and the relatively long isolation of the country. The families richest in alien plant species are Fabaceae (17 species), Asteraceae (14 species) and Poaceae (12 species). More alien plants were found in northern Oman (82 species) than in southern Oman (60 species), and very few species are recorded from the central desert (7 species). The main habitats colonized were man-made habitats, either ruderal or agricultural. Most species alien to Oman are native to South America (49 species) or North America (43 species). This inventory provides a knowledge base for developing a national management strategy for alien vascular plants in Oman.

Vascular plant occurrences in grasslands of Central Forest Nature Reserve (Russia): a dataset.

BackgroundHere we present the sampling event dataset that contributes to studying the flora of grasslands in Central Forest State Nature Biosphere Reserve (part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves), Tver Oblast, Russia. The Reserve is located in the SW part of the Valdai Upland within the main Caspian-Baltic watershed of the Russian plain (Latitude: 56° 26' – 56° 39' N, Longitude: 32° 29' – 33° 01' E). The territory of Central Forest Reserve belongs to the subzone of subtaiga.New informationThe dataset includes the occurrences of vascular plant species in four types of grasslands from 209 vegetation plots (8,506 associated occurrences), collected in 2013-2014. The dataset described in this paper has never been published before.As the grasslands in Central Forest State Nature Biosphere Reserve are relatively unstudied, we are providing a new comprehensive dataset on the vascular plant species occurrences in the grasslands of the Reserve. The dataset contains representative information on floristic composition of plant communities in localities with assigned GPS coordinates. As the vegetation of the Reserve is typical of the subtaiga subzone, the results of analysing this dataset can be useful for grassland management in the whole subtaiga subzone.During this study, we found one vascular plant species included in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, three species from the Red Data Book of Tver Oblast, as well as 10 alien vascular plant species for the Reserve. These data, especially, the occurrences of protected and alien species, contribute to our knowledge of species composition of the grasslands of the Reserve.

Alien (invasive) vascular plants in Slovakia – a story of successful plant immigrants

Abstract This article summarises the history of research into alien plants and plant communities in Slovakia (Central Europe). Earlier periods are reviewed briefly with reference to literature sources dealing with those periods more comprehensively. A milestone in the research was the publication of the Inventory of the alien flora of Slovakia in 2012 with a complete list of alien vascular plants. The last ten years are discussed more extensively in the article in four sections devoted to i) newly found alien plants, ii) distribution and habitat relations, iii) plant invasions, iv) citizen science based on the comprehensive excerption of literature sources. A list of 51 newly published alien taxa within the last ten years is also included with information on the year of their first occurrence in the wild in Slovakia.

The first checklist of alien vascular plants of Kyrgyzstan, with new records and critical evaluation of earlier data. Contribution 1.

BackgroundNational checklists of alien plants and detailed databases of non-native plant occurrences are required to study and control regional and global plant invasions. No country in Central Asia has a national checklist of alien plants. A recent inventory counted 183 alien plant species in Kyrgyzstan, including archaeophytes and neophytes, established and casual. This preliminary checklist, which was developed for the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species in 2018, served as a starting point for the present study.New informationA complete inventory of Xanthium in Kyrgyzstan has revealed that three alien species are resident in the country. Their correct nomenclature is X.orientale (syn. X.albinum, X.californicum, X.sibiricum auct.; invasive neophyle of the period of extensive grain import to the USSR after the Second World War), X.spinosum (invasive neophyte of the period of the Second World War, which arrived as a contaminant on the relocated livestock) and X.strumarium (syn. X.chinense, X.sibiricum; archaeophyte of the Neolithic period, introduced with wheat cultivation, which had lost its invasive status and appeared on the verge of extinction when its pool was no longer renewed by contaminated grain). A history of introduction to Central Asia is uncovered for all the species of Xanthium. A further spread is documented for Buniasorientalis, with a new record extending its distribution to the Eastern Tian-Shan; a complex history of its introduction to Europe and Central Asia is inferred from the archaeological data and its recent dispersal, and the pathways of its introduction to Kyrgyzstan are established. Erigeronannuus s.str. is reported as new to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and E.lilacinus as new to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Tajikistan (it was previously recorded as E.annuus s.l. from the three latter countries, in which the presence of E.annuus s.str. is not confirmed). These closely related species differ in their pathways of introduction and invasion status: E.annuus s.str. is an invasive established alien which was imported as a contaminant of forage, whereas E.lilacinus is mostly a casual (locally persisting) alien introduced with contaminated seed of ornamental plants or nursery material, and also intentionally introduced and locally established in the Botanical Garden in Bishkek. Bidenstinctoria (syn. Coreopsistinctoria) is newly recorded as a casual alien from a single locality in Kyrgyzstan; this species name is validly published here in conformity with the phylogeny of Coreopsideae.Point maps of species distributions in Kyrgyzstan are provided on the basis of a complete inventory of the literature data, herbarium specimens and documented observations, and our recent fieldwork. The maps are documented with a dataset of herbarium specimens and observations. Period and pathways of introduction, vectors of dispersal, current and historical invasion status, evidence of impact and distributional trend are established or inferred for each species. Each species is discussed in the context of plant invasions in Central Asia as a whole.These species accounts are part of the national database of alien plants which aims at producing a comprehensive overview and analysis of plant invasions in Kyrgyzstan.

A benefit-cost analysis framework for prioritization of control programs for well-established invasive alien species

Invasive alien species (IAS) are identified as a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services. While early detection and control programs to avoid establishments of new alien species can be very cost-effective, control costs for well-established species can be enormous. Many of these well-established species constitute severe or high ecological impact and are thus likely to be included in control programs. However, due to limited funds, we need to prioritize which species to control according to the gains in ecological status and human well-being compared to the costs. Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) provides such a tool but has been hampered by the difficulties in assessing the overall social benefits on the same monetary scale as the control costs. In order to overcome this obstacle, we combine a non-monetary benefit assessment tool with the ecosystem service framework to create a benefit assessment in line with the welfare economic underpinnings of BCA. Our simplified BCA prioritization tool enables us to conduct rapid and cheap appraisals of large numbers of invasive species that the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre has found to cause negative ecological impacts. We demonstrate this application on 30 well-established invasive alien vascular plant species in Norway. Social benefits are calculated and aggregated on a benefit point scale for six impact categories: four types of ecosystem services (supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural), human health and infrastructure impacts. Total benefit points are then compared to the total control costs of programs aiming at eradicating individual IAS across Norway or in selected vulnerable ecosystems. Although there are uncertainties with regards to IAS population size, benefits assessment and control program effectiveness and costs; our simplified BCA tool identified six species associated with robust low cost-benefit ratios in terms of control costs (in million USD) per benefit point. As a large share of public funds for eradication of IAS is currently spent on control programs for other plant species, we recommend that the environmental authorities at all levels use our BCA prioritization tool to increase the social benefits of their limited IAS control budgets. In order to maximize the net social benefits of IAS control programs, environmental valuation studies of their ecosystem service benefits are needed.

НОВІ ЗНАХІДКИ ЧУЖОРІДНИХ РОСЛИН-ЕРГАЗІОФІТІВ У ЛІВОБЕРЕЖНОМУ ЛІСОСТЕПУ УКРАЇНИ

The article summarizes the data on the distribution of 25 alien vascular plants in the territory of the Left Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. All of them are ergaziophytes (mostly ornamental plants) escaped from their areas of cultivation. Ten species (Callistephus chinensis (L.) Nees, Iberis umbellata L., Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv., Ricinus communis L., Hemerocallis fulva (L.) L., Iris germanica L., Salvia sclarea L., Mirabilis jalapa L., Sorghum drummondii (Nees ex Steud.) Millsp. & Chase and Viola sororia Willd.) have been firstly found as wild plants in this region. Four species (Rudbeckia triloba L., Euphorbia marginata Pursh, Portulaca grandiflora Hook. and Solanum lycopersicum L.) are new for Poltava region, one(Solidago gigantea W.T. Aiton) – for Sumy region, two (Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng. and Salvia sclarea L.) – for Kharkiv city and Kharkiv region. The data of distribution of Amaranthus caudatus L. in the Left Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine were confirmed by herbarium specimen. Other eight species (Allium schoenoprasum L., Calendula officinalis L., Heliopsis helianthoides (L.) Sweet, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (L.) G.L. Nesom, Dianthus barbatus L., Phedimus spurius (M. Bieb.) 't Hart, Phlox paniculata L., Solanum tuberosum L.) belong to locally distributed alien plants. Based on analysis of the chorology of these species, it is found that eight alien plants have North-American origin, other main regional chorological groups are represented by species from Eastern Asia (4), South America (3) and Europe (3). Major part of the found alien plants includes ephemerophytes in the Left Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine (22 species), only three representatives (Heliopsis helianthoides, Phedimus spurius and Solidago gigantea) are naturalized on this territory and belong to the stable floristic component. Two species (Hemerocallis fulva and Iris germanica) are sporadically distributed in different locations, but represented by vegetative clones only and have not been considered as elements of the spontaneous flora. Key words: adventive plants, new localities, Forest-Steppe zone.

Moving out of town? The status of alien plants in high‐Arctic Svalbard, and a method for monitoring of alien flora in high‐risk, polar environments

Abstract Rising human activity in the Arctic, combined with a warming climate, increases the probability of introduction and establishment of alien plant species. While settlements are known hotspots for persistent populations, little is known about colonization of particularly susceptible natural habitats. Systematic monitoring is lacking and available survey methods vary greatly. Here, we present the most comprehensive survey of alien vascular plant species in the high‐Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to date, aimed at (i) providing a status within settlements; (ii) surveying high‐risk habitats such as those with high visitor numbers and nutrient enrichment from sea bird colonies; (iii) presenting a systematic monitoring method that can be implemented in future work on alien plant species in Arctic environments; and (iv) discuss possibilities for mapping alien plant habitats using unmanned aerial vehicles. The systematic grid survey, covering 1.7 km2 over three settlements and six bird cliffs, detected 36 alien plant species. Alien plant species were exclusively found in areas of human activity, particularly areas associated with current or historic animal husbandry. The survey identified the successful eradication of Anthriscus sylvestris in Barentsburg, as well as the rapid expansion of Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia over the last few decades. As there is currently no consistent method for monitoring alien plant species tailored to polar environments, we propose a systematic methodology that could be implemented within a structured monitoring regime as part of an adaptive monitoring strategy towards alien species in the Arctic.