Maps of the level of invasion of the Czech Republic by alien plants.

Milan Chytrý 1 , Jan Wild 2 , Petr Pyšek 3 2 , Lubomír Tichý 1 , Jiří Danihelka 2 1 & Ilona Knollová 1

Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, CZ-611 37 Brno, Czech Republic
  2. Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-252 43 Průhonice, Czech Republic
  3. Department of Ecology, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 01 Praha, Czech Republic

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Abstract

A series of maps showing the level of invasion of the Czech Republic by alien plants was developed based on a quantitative assessment of the level of invasion of 35 terrestrial habitat types at different altitudes. The levels of invasion were quantified for 18,798 vegetation plots, using two measures: proportion of the species that are aliens and total cover of alien species. Separate assessments were made for archaeophytes and neophytes. Within each habitat, the level of invasion was related to altitude using generalized linear models. The level of invasion, depending on the measure used, decreased with altitude in 16 out of 20 habitats for archaeophytes and 18 out of 23 for neophytes. In two habitats, one measure of the level of invasion increased with altitude for archaeophytes. The values of the level of invasion predicted by generalized linear models for particular combinations of habitats and altitudes were projected onto a land-cover map and digital elevation map of the country. Four maps showing the level of invasion were produced, based on the proportion of the species that are archaeophytes or neophytes, and cover of archaeophytes and neophytes. The maps show that both archaeophytes and neophytes are most common in lowland agricultural and urban areas, whereas they are sparsely represented in mountainous areas. At middle altitudes, agricultural areas are more invaded than forested areas. Outside agricultural and urban areas, high levels of invasion are found especially in lowland sandy areas and river corridors.

Keywords

altitude, archaeophyte, distribution, exotic species, habitat types, invasive species, land cover, neophyte, non-native species, plant community

How to cite

Chytrý M., Wild J., Pyšek P., Tichý L., Danihelka J. & Knollová I. (2009) Maps of the level of invasion of the Czech Republic by alien plants. – Preslia 81: 187207