Alien flora reaches cemeteries
Some plant species of alien origin once introduced to Polish habitats have become a permanent fixture in our flora, growing e.g. in cemeteries and their surroundings. Scientists from the PAS Institute of Nature Conservation examined what kind of necropolises could act as the hubs of alien plant species.
Researchers divided studied areas into three groups, based on the land use: highly disturbed, semi-natural, and natural. After analyzing 32 urban and rural cemeteries and their immediate surroundings located in southern Poland, they found that more alien species grow between graves located in a disturbed environment, for example in the vicinity of buildings, roads, farmlands and wastelands. There are much fewer of them in cemeteries with natural surroundings.
This means that necropolises with disturbed surroundings may act as hubs for the dispersal of alien plant species. In order to lower the risk of further invasion by alien species the authorities and managers of these areas should seek effective ways to maintain or improve biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of habitats around cemeteries.
Read the full text of the article Cemetery fugitives: The role of the land use of the surroundings of burial places in alien plant species invasions in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening journal.
The most popular plants observed in the examined cemeteries (photos):
- Echinochloa crus-galli (source: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
- Oxalis stricta L. (source: Jason Hollinger, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
- Erigeron canadensis (source: AnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
- Impatiens parviflora DC. (source: Mark14, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons)
- Galinsoga quadriradiata Ruiz & Pav. (source: Rasbak, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
- Veronica persica Poir. (source: Strobilomyces, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Source of information: Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences
