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CERATOPHYLLUM DEMERSUM - RISKS OF INVASIVENESS IN CONNECTION WITH CHANGES IN THE CLIMATE AND IN THE QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Barbara Stalmachova, Emilie Pecharova, Alena Kasparkova

Abstract

The abundances of invasive plant species in the vegetation have negative impacts on the integrity, structure and function of autochthonous ecosystems. Invasive species act as stressors for plant communities and change their species compositions. In the Czech Republic, Ceratophyllum demersum is a species that may represent a risk of invasiveness, particularly in shallow types of water bodies. It is autochthonous is all continents, but it is primarily centred into warmer parts of the mild climate of the northern hemisphere; in the north it reaches as far as 69пїЅ north latitude into Scandinavia. However, it also occurs in the southern hemisphere, where in parts of New Zealand and Australia it has become a significant invasive species. In the Czech Republic, it mostly occurs in the thermophytic areas and in warmer mesophytic areas. It is assumed to occur in stagnant or slow-flowing water bodies, most frequently in mesotrophic and eutrophic waters richer in nutrients, slightly alkalic, on sapropel substrate, and in waters as deep as 40пїЅ200 cm. In general, it is very difficult to predict the spread of macrophytes and the risk of their invasiveness due to a wide physiological tolerance of water macrophytes and lack of information on the relative importance of various human vectors in relation to the stability of water environment. In Ceratophyllum demersum the populations are assumed to be highly varied due to the tolerance to the water environment characteristics, such as the temperature and water nitrogen. The study was prepared with the financial support of Project Interreg V-A Czech Republic - Poland CZ.11.4.120/0.0/0.0/15_006/0000059 Assessment of sources and risks related to invasive plant species in the border area of the Czech Republic and Poland, and Project TACR TH02030523- Development of Invasive Alien Species Geoinformation Portal.

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