Alien plant species associated with railways in the Czech Republic
A study of plant species (including invasive alien plant species) along railways was conducted in the Czech Republic. The study was conducted along the First Transit Railway corridor from Břeclav to Děčín. An inventory of the vascular plant taxa were recorded from 39 railway stations, railway yards and their close vicinity between June - August of 2020-2022. Alien plant species represented 40 % of the total number (309) of plant plant species recorded. The majority of alien species (239) were naturalised, 53 were classified as invasive and 70 were casual. Table 1 lists the most frequently occurring invasive alien plants recorded in the study. The majority (130) of alien species were of Mediterranean origin, 55 taxa were from the rest of Europe, 54 from North America and 53 from Asia. The highest diversity of alien and invasive plant species were recorded from the largest train stations. Railways are ruderal habitats for some invasive alien plant species and they can act at the starting point for further spread into natural and agricultural habitats.
Table 1. Most frequently occurring invasive alien plants in the study.
Species | Family | Type | Native range |
Arrhenatherum elatius | Poaceae | Archaeophyte | Africa/Asia/Europe |
Cirsium arvense | Asteraceae | Archaeophyte | Africa/Asia/Europe |
Digitaria sanguinalis | Poaceae | Archaeophyte | Africa/Asia/Europe |
Erigeron annuus | Asteraceae | Neophyte | North America |
Erigeron canadensis | Asteraceae | Neophyte | Americas |
Lactuca serriola | Asteraceae | Archaeophyte | Africa/Asia/Europe |
Portulaca oleracea | Portulacaceae | Archaeophyte | Africa/Asia/Europe |
Robinia pseudoacacia | Fabaceae | Neophyte | North America |
Sisymbrium loeselii | Brassicaceae | Neophyte | Asia/Europe |
Solidago canadensis | Asteraceae | Neophyte | North America |
Sources
Kutlvašr J, Turková S, Hejda M, Vojík M, Kadlecová M, Bímová KB, Pyšek P, Pergl J (2024) Railways as a source of alien plants. Preslia 96, 247-266.