Representatives of the Fallopia genus: Fallopia japonica, Fallopia sachalinensis and Fallopia × bohemica are known as successful invaders, wide spread throughout Europe and North America. This paper focuses on the invasive Fallopia complex and presents some features (a wide ecological amplitude, high competition abilities, sexual reproduction by hybridization) responsible for the fact that all species of the Fallopia genus are aggressive and noxious invaders.

The Sudeten flora consists of some plants we can recognize as heavy metal accumulators. Between others there are: Thlaspi caerulescens, Arabidopsis halleri, Armeria maritima ssp. halleri s.l. and probably the endemic fern Asplenium onopteris var. silesiaca. The authors present the concentrations of some important heavy metals measured in aboveground plant dry weight. The highest concentration of zinc was 8220 ppm (Thlaspi), nickel - 3100 ppm (Thlaspi), lead - 83 ppm (Armeria), copper - 611 ppm (Arabidopsis) and cadmium - 28 ppm (Thlaspi). The concentrations depend rather on species or population specification than on ore deposit quality. There are no typical hyperaccumulator among plants we have examined, but some signs of hyperaccumulation of nickel, zinc and lead could be observed. There are no typical endemic taxa, only Asplenium onopteris var. silesiaca and Armeria maritima ssp. halleri may be recognized as neoendemic taxa, but still of unclear systematic position. During the study we tried to find out why some Sudeten vascular plants do not develop heavy metals hyperaccumulation and why they are rather latent hyperaccumulators. Finally, we suggest to protect some metallicolous areas in spite they are rather territories with low plant biodiversity

The authors present the view that in the Sudeten for fourty years paralelly eutrophication and acidification processes are taking place, as a result of industrial emissions. This view is based on results of bioindication studies on pollution and accumulation of sulphur, nitrogen and heavy metals. At the same time, after 30 years, vegetation and floristic changes were investigated on permanent plots on the Śnieżnik and in the Karkonosze Mts. In most habitats a decrease of pH over 1.0 has been recorded, even in areas with calcium bedrock. Acid rains containing a lot of nitrates contribute to the fertilization of most of the ecosystems. The yearly fall of total nitrogen in the Sudeten ranges from 38 kg in the Karkonosze, to 59 kg/ha on the Śnieżnik, of nitrates - from 380 to 900 ppm/year, and sulphur, on the average, 1300 ppm/year in the whole Sudeten. The acidification of soil causes the inaccessibility of alcaline elements (magnesium, calcium) and mobilization of harmful for plants aluminium. Overfertilization of habitats, the lack of calcium and magnesium and the excess of aluminium cause unfavourable alterations in all phytocenoses in the Sudeten. The high mountain forests are particularly suffering, but also the high mountain vegetation and above all the subalpine swards exposed to acid rains. Examples of plant species which adapt themselves to the new ecological conditions, and mountain plants which reduce their range are given. In general, the typical mountain flora and vegetation of the Sudeten is endangered in the existing ecological conditions

The copper smelter "Legnica" is one of the oldest plants in Lower Silesia. Among the few weed species spontaneously migrating to the area around the emitter there is couch grass (Agropyron repens (L.) P. Bauv.). The purpose of this study was to analyse whether the local couch grass populations, growing at various distances from the smelter, differ in tolerance to heavy metals occurring in this area. The populations were tested for tolerance to five metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni) using the root elongation method. The highest tolerance to Pb developed in two populations localized nearest the smelter. Similarly, all populations of couch grass from the vicinity of the smelter show a high tolerance to copper, particularly the plants from the most contaminated site. The IT for the latter population is almost 1509r, even at the highest dose of Cu. For Zn a nearing IT as for Cu was obtained. Comparing the shape of IT curves for Cd, special emphasis is put on the fact that a fixed tolerance to cadmium occurs only in the population localized closest to the emitter. The analysis of Ni-tolerance curves, of which the content in local soil is minimal, does not confirm the thesis on possibility of development of co-tolerance in the surveyed populations. It appeared that stress conditions existing near the smelter do not inhibit seed production in couch grass, but prevent a successful course of their germination on polluted soil. The improvement of soil even by 50% (addition of unpolluted soil) does not improve the poor process of germination in couch grass growing nearest to the smelter. Of importance is the fact that the highest number of seeds germinated on their own, polluted soil. The need of metals' content for plant germination in populations most distant from the smelter is evidenced by an almost 30% reduction of germination ability of local seeds after addition of unpolluted soil. Another significant observation was the fact that, in spite of a poor germination of seeds on unpolluted soil, the further development of seedlings in populations more distant from the smelter was more intense and faster than on their native polluted soil. Thus, a certain amount of metals may stimulate the germination processes of seeds in tolerant populations, but on the other hand, it may be a hindrance to subsequent juvenile phases. During observations of development of rhizomes, taken from three polluted couch grass populations cultivated on unpolluted soil, in all of them a very slow development of rhizome buds was recorded. However, the slowest rate of appearance of buds was found in the population taken nearest the emitter which, in greenhouse conditions and at lack of metals in soil, showed a markedly poor tendency toward vegetative reproduction. All the contaminated populations display a high activity of peroxidase in leaves and roots, frequently more than twice as high than in control populations. The activity of catalase is also markedly higher, but only in two of the most contaminated populations. The recorded for the first t...

The area around the copper smelter "Legnica" in western Poland is influenced by pollutants from the smelter for about 35 years. Ecosystems within a distance of 1-2 km from the smelting complex are heavily degradated. Copper levels of the upper soil layers averaged more than 15000 ppm, lead levels more than 2000 ppm (d.m. weight). Besides heavy metals, sulphur dioxide is one of the most important pollutants affecting plant growth. Only few plant species are able to grow on those highly contaminated sites. Vegetation patches within zones of bare ground without any vegetation are mainly dominated by Convolvulus arvensis, Agropyron repens, Calamagrostis epigeios or Sambucus nigra. Leaf metal contents of Artemisia vulgaris, a plant which is a good bioindicator and also very frequent around the copper smelter, ranged: 665-2340 ppm Cu (d.m. weight), 215-2301 ppm Zn, 189-1031 ppm Pb and 0.75-12.4 ppm Cd according to the distance and exposition to the pollution source