Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region
Tree-of-heaven (<i>Ailanthus altissima</i>) is one of the most dangerous and widespread invasive woody plant species in Europe. Despite the fact that <i>A. altissima</i> is in the focus of an increasing number of research projects, the impact of its mass spread on native vege...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/11/1155 |
| _version_ | 1797509706573414400 |
|---|---|
| author | András Demeter Dénes Saláta Eszter Tormáné Kovács Orsolya Szirmai Petra Trenyik Sarolta Meinhardt Katalin Rusvai Krisztina Verbényiné Neumann Balázs Schermann Zsófia Szegleti Szilárd Czóbel |
| author_facet | András Demeter Dénes Saláta Eszter Tormáné Kovács Orsolya Szirmai Petra Trenyik Sarolta Meinhardt Katalin Rusvai Krisztina Verbényiné Neumann Balázs Schermann Zsófia Szegleti Szilárd Czóbel |
| author_sort | András Demeter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tree-of-heaven (<i>Ailanthus altissima</i>) is one of the most dangerous and widespread invasive woody plant species in Europe. Despite the fact that <i>A. altissima</i> is in the focus of an increasing number of research projects, the impact of its mass spread on native vegetation, its diversity, and changes in soil quality are still incomplete. The current study addresses the effects of this invasive species on plant diversity and soil parameters simultaneously. The main objective of our research is to determine the impact of cover and mass of <i>A. altissima</i> on the diversity of each forest layer; the examined soil parameters and on other selected environmental variables. For botanical and pedological investigations we selected nine <i>A. altissima</i>-dominated sites in Central Europe, in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region. Based on our results, it can be stated that fully grown <i>A. altissima</i>-dominated stands can displace other taxa by their shading and allelopathy, thereby reducing canopy layer diversity. The increase in the species richness of the shrub layer had a positive correlation with the diversity of the floor layer and also with the humus and ammonia content of the soil. As the diversity of shrub layer and floor layer positively correlated with many soil parameters, the diverse vegetation of these layers can represent a potential opportunity for the regeneration of areas infected with <i>A. altissima</i>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:21:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45a2ce05604941609f0f37e21ea2e020 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T05:21:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-45a2ce05604941609f0f37e21ea2e0202023-11-23T00:00:53ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-10-011011115510.3390/land10111155Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian RegionAndrás Demeter0Dénes Saláta1Eszter Tormáné Kovács2Orsolya Szirmai3Petra Trenyik4Sarolta Meinhardt5Katalin Rusvai6Krisztina Verbényiné Neumann7Balázs Schermann8Zsófia Szegleti9Szilárd Czóbel10Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryInstitute of Animal Sciences and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Szeged, Andrássy Street 15, H-6800 Hódmezővásárhely, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDepartment of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly Street 1, H-2100 Gödöllő, HungaryInstitute of Plant Sciences and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Szeged, Andrássy Street 15, H-6800 Hódmezővásárhely, HungaryTree-of-heaven (<i>Ailanthus altissima</i>) is one of the most dangerous and widespread invasive woody plant species in Europe. Despite the fact that <i>A. altissima</i> is in the focus of an increasing number of research projects, the impact of its mass spread on native vegetation, its diversity, and changes in soil quality are still incomplete. The current study addresses the effects of this invasive species on plant diversity and soil parameters simultaneously. The main objective of our research is to determine the impact of cover and mass of <i>A. altissima</i> on the diversity of each forest layer; the examined soil parameters and on other selected environmental variables. For botanical and pedological investigations we selected nine <i>A. altissima</i>-dominated sites in Central Europe, in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region. Based on our results, it can be stated that fully grown <i>A. altissima</i>-dominated stands can displace other taxa by their shading and allelopathy, thereby reducing canopy layer diversity. The increase in the species richness of the shrub layer had a positive correlation with the diversity of the floor layer and also with the humus and ammonia content of the soil. As the diversity of shrub layer and floor layer positively correlated with many soil parameters, the diverse vegetation of these layers can represent a potential opportunity for the regeneration of areas infected with <i>A. altissima</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/11/1155tree-of-heavenforest layersabundancediversity indicessoil quality |
| spellingShingle | András Demeter Dénes Saláta Eszter Tormáné Kovács Orsolya Szirmai Petra Trenyik Sarolta Meinhardt Katalin Rusvai Krisztina Verbényiné Neumann Balázs Schermann Zsófia Szegleti Szilárd Czóbel Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region Land tree-of-heaven forest layers abundance diversity indices soil quality |
| title | Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region |
| title_full | Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region |
| title_fullStr | Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region |
| title_short | Effects of the Invasive Tree Species <i>Ailanthus altissima</i> on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region |
| title_sort | effects of the invasive tree species i ailanthus altissima i on the floral diversity and soil properties in the pannonian region |
| topic | tree-of-heaven forest layers abundance diversity indices soil quality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/11/1155 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andrasdemeter effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT denessalata effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT esztertormanekovacs effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT orsolyaszirmai effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT petratrenyik effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT saroltameinhardt effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT katalinrusvai effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT krisztinaverbenyineneumann effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT balazsschermann effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT zsofiaszegleti effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion AT szilardczobel effectsoftheinvasivetreespeciesiailanthusaltissimaionthefloraldiversityandsoilpropertiesinthepannonianregion |