Major emerging alien plants in Austrian crop fields
A high level of habitat modification in agricultural systems makes such areas prone to invasion by invasive alien plants. In Austria, several species have become invasive and have negative impacts on crop yields. Six alien plant species (Table 1) in Austria were evaluated to determine their invasion process and impact to agriculture. Occurrence data for each species in crop fields was collected from 1965 to 2016. Abutilon theophrasti was first recorded in crop fields in 1973 and since 2000, the species occurs in large populations in the lowlands in east Austria. Ambrosia artemisiifolia (EPPO List of IAP) was first recorded in 1978, with a small number of occurrences in Eastern Austria by 2000. Since 2000, the species has become a common weed in agricultural areas in Southern and eastern lowlands. Similarly, Cyperus esculentus (EPPO List of IAP) was rarely recorded up until 2000, but more recently the species has spread, and large populations are now recorded in southern Austria. A similar pattern has been shown for Datura stramonium, Panicum schinzii and Sorghum halepense. The impact of each species on crop yield in Austria is likely to be high and affect different crops. C. esculentus, P. schinzii and S. halepense mainly invade maize fields in Austria whereas A. theophrasti is more associated with sugar beet. A. artemisiifolia and D. stramonium are associated with more than one type of crop.
Table 1. Six major emerging alien plants in Austrian crop fields
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Species
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Family
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Main pathway
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Current presence (EPPO region)
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Abutilon theophrasti
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Malvaceae
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Seed contaminant
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AT, BG, CH, DE, DK, ES, FR, GB, GR, HU, HR, IT, MT, NL, PL PT, RO, RU, RS, SE, UA
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Ambrosia artemisiifolia
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Asteraceae
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Contaminant
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Widespread
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Cyperus esculentus
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Cyperaceae
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Contaminant
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Widespread
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Datura stramonium
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Solanaceae
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Crop/horticulture
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Widespread
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Panicum schinzii
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Poaceae
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Contaminant
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AT, BE, DK, FR, DE, NL, SI, SE, CH, GB
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|
Sorghum halepense
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Poaceae
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Contaminant
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AT, BE, BG, ES, GR, HU, IL, IT, JO, MT, PL RO, RU, RS, TR, UA
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Sources
Follak S, Schleicher C, Schwarz M, Essl F (2017) Major emerging alien plants in Austrian crop fields. Weed Research. DOI:10.1111/wre.12272.