Heracleum sosnowskyi (Apiaceae) seed productivity and establishment in different habitats of central Lithuania

Abstract

A dangerous invader Heracleum sosnowskyi successfully spreads along roads, riverbanks and has naturalized in Lithuanian habitats and plant communities. It out-competes native species, thus changing ecosystems diversity, pushing autochthone species from native habitats, decreasing biodiversity and transforming landscape. This paper aims to evaluate H. sosnowskyi spread and establishment on habitat scale in Lithuania. Data on abundance, spatial distribution and contribution of H. sosnowskyi to plant biodiversity were collected from natural and anthropogenic habitats. Another objective was to evaluate the speed of spread in an infected landscape. Local assessments of the abundance of H. sosnowskyi by estimating variables of spatial penetrating and establishment in native plant communities on an individual block scale were carried out. Four population types with different density and coverage of species individuals were found. Species abundance was structured according to the distance from highway and significantly correlated (r = 0.7) with native plant community type. This species finds opportunities for colonization and reproduction resulting in decrease of natural diversity.

Composition and herbicidal effect of Heracleum sosnowskyi essential oil

“…Heracleum sosnowskyi (Manden, Apiaceae), or Sosnowsky hogweed, is one of the most dangerous invasive species in Central and Northern Europe [1][2][3]. One of the main 2 Experimental procedures…”

Morphological and anatomical comparison of mericarps from different types of umbels of Heracleum sosnowskyi / Sosnovskio barščio skirtingų tipų žiedynų merikarpių morfologinės ir anatominės sandaros palyginamoji analizė

“…Even the smell is enough to induce allergenic symptoms in sensitive people. This plant is dangerous for humans, because the plant sap causes photosensitivity and burns (JaKubowicz et al, 2012;Baležentienė et al, 2013). Reproduction for all plants is very important event in their lifetime (crawLey, 1997), especially for monocarpic plants such as H. sosnowskyi, which bear fruits only once in their life and after setting of mericarps they die (devLin, 1969;JaKubowicz et al, 2012).…”

“…When mature, the shizocarps split to separate mericarps in turn (GriGas, 1986). Sosnowsky's hogweed can produce about 5000-8000 fruits (schizocarps) (TKaTschenKo, 1989;GudzinsKas, 1998), while other researchers indicate higher seed production -about 15000-16000 one seed containing mericarps (JaKubowicz et al, 2012;Baležentienė et al, 2013) per plant, most germinate in early spring of the following year (moRavcová et al, 2006;Baležentienė et al, 2013). It is known that even at the beginning of seed-setting, the broken off inflorescence of this species can mature seeds (nieLsen et al, 2005).…”

Екобіологічні загрози поширення видів роду Heracleum на території міста Кременця Тернопільської області

“…При відсутності ізоляції борщівники легко схрещуються між собою, утворюючи спонтанні гібриди, що ще більше ускладнює визначення виду (Dudkin et al, 2003). Агресивним загарбником H. sosnowskyi є у Латвії, де він вважається шкідливим інвазійним видом, що спричинює трансформацію екосистем (Baležentienė et al, 2013). Значний вплив на структура та склад природних фітоценозів чинить H. sosnowskyi у Південній та Західній частині Польщі (Ciosek et al, 2010).…”