Intrusion of strangers into the garden. Why are the plant species brought to us dangerous?

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Migrant plants, once in new territories, often begin to capture them, displacing the "aborigines". Everything is like people.

Entering an alien ecosystem, aliens change their habitat, reduce biodiversity, cause economic damage, and harm human health.

In the language of science, such species are called invasive (from the English invasion - "invasion"). In Russia, scientists are compiling the Black Book of Flora - a list of migrant plants that harm our nature. It can include about 100 species. These lists are needed not only by government agencies, which, on duty, are busy fighting dangerous plants. Summer residents also need to know impudent newcomers in person in order to prevent them from settling on their sites.

Sosnovsky's hogweed

Where I come from. A native of the Caucasus, therefore, he cannot be called a full-fledged stranger. It was brought to Russia as a valuable fodder crop for livestock. Hogweed was introduced into collective farms, but in the 1970s. it went beyond the cultivation areas and quickly spread throughout central Russia. Particularly problematic zones are the northwestern and central regions of the country.

Than dangerous. Extremely aggressive look. It is very fertile, spreads at a high speed, creates impenetrable thickets, displaces local, including rare, plant species. The main danger to humans is serious burns. They appear after exposure to the sun's rays, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. And if hogweed juice gets into your eyes, it can lead to blindness.

In case of contact with a plant, you must thoroughly wash the skin with soap and water and completely exclude exposure to sunlight on this place for three days.

Ambrosia

Where I come from. A genus of herbs distributed mainly in North America. Having no enemies, it quickly penetrated almost the entire territory of Russia, especially filling the lands of the southern regions.

Than dangerous. Ambrosia pollen causes "hay fever" and can even be fatal in those who are particularly susceptible to it. In the south, in the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, during the period of dusting, 30-40% of the population suffer from allergies. This is a real economic disaster: many residents of these regions are forced to leave somewhere during the ragweed flowering period or to take antihistamines for a long time.

In addition, ragweed dries up the soil and makes it unusable, sucking out water and minerals from it.

Ash-leaved maple (American)

Where I come from. From North America. The leaves of this tree from the Maple family are not at all like the classic maple leaves, and the plant itself is sometimes mistakenly called ash. It was brought to Russia at the end of the 18th century, then used for land reclamation and the creation of windbreaks. It began to rapidly settle in natural conditions on the territory of Russia only in the second half of the twentieth century. The American maple emerged from the parks and invaded traditional vegetation cover.

Poisonous and dangerous plants in the country. reference

Than dangerous. Botanists call it "killer maple". One of the most aggressive woody weeds. Displaces our coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests. It forms dense thickets along river valleys, where nothing else grows. It displaces willows and poplars from floodplain forests, and ash, linden and Norway maple from forest edges. It is massively affected by the pest - the American white butterfly, which at the same time damages another 250 plant species.

The pollen of this maple is the strongest allergen and causes "hay fever". And according to some reports, pollen is also a carcinogen.

While the plants in the city purify the air from harmful impurities, the American maple, on the contrary, oxidizes the substances of car exhaust to be even more poisonous.

Robinia (false acacia)

Where it comes from. We often call it white acacia, which is incorrect from a botanical point of view. The plant originates from North America, but has taken root in many regions of the planet with a temperate climate. It appeared in Europe in the first half of the 17th century. It is used as an ornamental plant, as well as for strengthening sands and creating windbreaks.

Than dangerous. At the end of the XX century. pseudoacacia has turned into an aggressive weed, displacing species of local flora. It turned out to be able to change the nature of the activity of the local ecosystem, disrupting the nitrogen cycle in the soil. Robinia populations that have taken root in forest plantations cannot be destroyed: its roots grow very strongly, and the seeds remain viable for up to 50 years!

The plant is included in the 100 most dangerous alien species in the flora of Europe.

Echinocystis (lobed prickle)

Where I come from. Also came from North America. It has many popular and local names - bubble wort, blackberry, spiny cucumber, shooting ivy. It is sometimes called wild or mad cucumber, but it is a completely different plant.

It was brought to Europe through botanical gardens and exotic collectors. He came to Siberia with the peasants-settlers. It is widely used as a climbing ornamental plant (including in summer cottages), but it runs wild easily.

Than dangerous. It aggressively invades natural communities, displacing local flora species. For example, in the Moscow region, the lobed prickle has replaced the new and hop dodder. It settles in damp places, in river floodplains. Fills gardens in suburban settlements. Sometimes it occupies quite large spaces both in the vicinity of settlements, and quite far from them. Echinocystis thickets look like lianas, and you can only go through them with a knife.

Japanese Reinutria

Where I come from. Her homeland is Japan, China and Korea. The plant was brought to Europe in the middle of the 19th century, but after a few decades it appeared in the wild and began to actively settle in the countries of the Old World.

Than dangerous. Reinutria is included in the list of the most dangerous invasive species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Its dense thickets increase soil erosion during spring floods, as native plant species are displaced and the soil is not protected from washout. Moreover, rhizomes are capable of damaging hydraulic structures.

Settling in cities, rainnutria destroys asphalt pavements, damages building foundations and light structures. In European countries, the presence of thickets of this plant on a construction site immediately increases the cost of construction by 10%!

Expert opinion

Chief Researcher of the Main Botanical Garden named after V. I. Tsitsina RAS, Doctor of Biological Sciences Yulia Vinogradova:

- Now everyone knows about Sosnovsky's hogweed, he is our No. 1 pest. And about the white acacia? But it is capable of destroying railways - its powerful roots raise the sleepers!

White acacia comes from North America. It is noteworthy that immigrants from this particular continent occupy the first lines in the "black list" of the flora of Russia. The reason, apparently, is that our climate is similar to the North American one, and aliens from this continent easily adapt to our conditions.

It is imperative to study alien plant species. And the Black Book of Flora should have the same legal force as the Red Book. Moreover, it is desirable that each region of the country has its own such book - after all, our country is huge and the natural conditions are different.