Invasive alien plants in Russia
The first list of invasive alien plants in Russia was compiled for North-West Russia in 2003 and included 22 taxa. Following this, in 2006, work began on a Black Book of the Flora of Central Russia, resulting in a monograph of 52 invasive alien plants. Following this, additional blacklists for other regions in Russia were developed. In 2015, the Commission on Invasive species of the Botanical Gardens of Russia proposed to develop a unified blacklist for Russia. A team of scientists worked to review all entries for invasive alien plants in Russia and a final list was prepared. The results detail that there are currently 584 invasive alien vascular plant species from 87 families recorded in Russia. Table 1 details the most widespread species based on the number of administration units in Russia the species is recorded in. The study categories these invasive alien plants into groups based on their level of invasiveness. Out of 584 species, 107 have been placed in the highest invasive category, as these species are invading natural and semi-natural habitats, and their establishment will change the structure of the ecosystems and disrupt their processes and functions.
Table 1. Widespread invasive alien plants in Russia
Species | Family | EPPO Status | Origin |
Acer negundo | Sapindaceae | - | North America |
Bidens frondosa | Asteraceae | EPPO List IAP | North America |
Echinocystis lobata | Cucurbitaceae | - | North America |
Elodea canadensis | Hydrocharitaceae | - | North America |
Erigeron annuus | Asteraceae | - | North America |
Erigeron canadensis | Asteraceae | - | North America |
Heracleum sosnowskyi | Apiaceae | EPPO A2 List | Caucasus |
Impatiens glandulifera | Balsaminaceae | EPPO List IAP | Asia (Himalayas) |
Lupinus polyphyllus | Fabaceae | EPPO List IAP | North America |
Solidago canadensis | Asteraceae | EPPO List IAP | North America |
Sources
Senator S, Vinogradova YK (2023) [Invasive plants of Russia: inventory results, distribution features and management issues]. Advances of Modern Biology (Успехи современной биологии) 143(4), 393–402 (in Russian)