Search Results (3)

Spontaneous vegetation plays an important role in protecting urban biodiversity and the maintenance of urban ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the species diversity, life-form composition, origin, flowering season, and spatiotemporal distribution of spontaneous vegetation in the exhibition and education area of Tangdao Bay National Wetland Park using the quadrat survey method. There were 65 spontaneous association types and 210 spontaneous plant species, belonging to 151 genera and 44 families. The associations and species of spontaneous plants in roadside habitats were found to be the highest. In addition, many species were found in woodland and lakeside habitats, whereas the lowest number of species were found in coastal habitats. The life-form composition included 76 annual and 94 perennial herb species. These plants were of various origins. There were 160 native, 9 domestically introduced, 2 introduced alien, and 39 invasive alien plant species, which predominantly came from the Americas. A single peak was observed from March to November for the spontaneous plant species that were in their growing season, including those of different life forms and from various sources. The same was true for spontaneous plants in their flowering season. During their growing season, the number of spontaneous plant species was highest during September and, during their flowering season, the number of species was highest in July. From April to September, the Shannon–Wiener diversity index for spontaneous vegetation in the roadside habitat was the highest, followed by those for the woodland and lakeside habitats, and that of the coastline habitat was the lowest. The monthly average Shannon–Wiener diversity index for spontaneous plant associations in the four habitats also varied, with a single peak. The diversity of spontaneous plants and alien invasive plants in Tangdao Bay National Wetland Park is high. The wise use and protection of spontaneous flowering plants with long ornamental seasons can effectively reduce the maintenance costs, resource consumption, and energy requirements of the park. Spontaneous plants should also be managed to reduce the harm from alien invasive plants in the park, and alien invasive plants should be removed from the park during their flowering seasons. Full article

Knowledge about urban forests in Poland is still limited, as it is primarily based on aggregate, formal data relating to the general area, ignoring the spatial dimension and informal green areas. This article describes and analyses spatio-temporal changes in the actual urban forest resources in Wrocław in 1944–2017, which covers the first period of the city’s rebuilding after its destruction during World War II and its development during the nationalised, centrally-planned socialist economy, as well as the second period of intensive and only partly controlled growth under conditions of market economy. The study is based on current and historical orthophotomaps, which were confronted with cartographic data, as well as planning documents. We found that between 1944 and 2017, the percentage contribution of informal woodlands increased tenfold (from 0.5 to 4.9% of the present total area of the city). The area occupied by such forests has grown particularly during the most recent years of the city’s intensive development. However, the forests have been increasingly fragmented. During the first period, new forest areas were also created in the immediate vicinity of the city centre, while during the second one, only in its peripheral sections. The post-war plans regarding the urban green spaces (UGS), including the current plan, are very conservative in nature. On the one hand, this means no interference with the oldest, biggest, and most valuable forest complexes, but on the other hand, insufficient consideration of the intensive built-up area expansion on former agriculture areas. Only to a limited extent did the above-mentioned plans take into account the informal woodlands, which provide an opportunity for strengthening the functional connectivity of landscape. Full article

Marginal agricultural land provides opportunities to diversify landscapes by producing biomass for biofuel, and through floral provisioning that enhances arthropod-mediated ecosystem service delivery. We examined the effects of local spatial context (adjacent to woodland or agriculture) and irrigation (irrigation or no irrigation) on wildflower bloom and visitation by arthropods in a biofeedstocks-wildflower habitat buffer design. Twenty habitat buffer plots were established containing a subplot of Napier grass (Pennisetum perpureum Schumach) for biofeedstock, three commercial wildflower mix subplots, and a control subplot containing spontaneous weeds. Arthropods and flowers were visually observed in quadrats throughout the season. At the end of the season we measured soil nutrients and harvested Napier biomass. We found irrespective of buffer location or irrigation, pollinators were observed more frequently early in the season and on experimental plots with wildflowers than on weeds in the control plots. Natural enemies showed a tendency for being more common on plots adjacent to a wooded border, and were also more commonly observed early in the season. Herbivore visits were infrequent and not significantly influenced by experimental treatments. Napier grass yields were high and typical of first-year yields reported regionally, and were not affected by location context or irrigation. Our results suggest habitat management designs integrating bioenergy crop and floral resources provide marketable biomass and habitat for beneficial arthropods. Full article