Features of cenopopulations of Asclepias syriaca L. (Syrian cottonwood) on fallows of Left bank Ukraine

Identifying centers of naturalization of invasive species, studying their biological features in new habitats allows to assess adaptive capabilities and establish prospects of distribution for the development of recommendations for successful control of the species in various ecological and coenotic conditions and regulation of expansion. The article analyzes the structural and functional features of adaptation in the conditions of the secondary range of Asclepias syriaca L. (Syrian cottonwood), a species with a high invasive potential, which poses a significant threat to biodiversity, on fallows of various ages. The population analysis of the species made it possible to find out their biological differences in different conditions of local growth, to learn the ontogenetic structure of coenopopulations, which allows to assess the adaptive possibilities and to find out the prospects for the spread of the species in the conditions of the Left Bank of Ukraine. The records were made on the fallows of the first, second, and fourth years, which formed derivative communities of the classes Stellarietea mediae Tüxen et al. ex von Rochow 1951, Artemisietea vulgaris Lohmeyer et al. ex von Rochow 1951 and Epilobietea angustifolii R. Tüxen et Passarge in Tüxen 1950 em. Passarge 1956. A morphometric and ontogenetic analysis of coenopopulations in the Kyiv, Poltava and Chernihiv regions on fallows and a comparative analysis with populations from Kryvorizhia were carried out. Morphometric analysis was carried out according to seven characteristics of leaves, inflorescences, and fruits. Population studies revealed that in the coenopopulations of A. syriaca on fallows, the most variable morphological feature was the height of the ramet - 86-155 cm. On the ramets formed from 1 to 8 fruits, and the number of seeds in the fruit are from 185 to 287. The ontogenetic spectrum of the studied cenopopulations is assessed as normal, incomplete and characterized by single-peak age spectra. Generative individuals predominate in the spectra of coenopopulations. It was established that the height of the ramet and the number of seeds in the fruits can be recommended for further analysis of the invasive potential of the species. It was found that on fallows with perennial ruderal vegetation, the density of ramets does not decrease, i.e., the density of vegetation does not affect this indicator, but it reliably affects seed productivity. Since there was no decrease in the density of ramets on fallows with perennial ruderal vegetation, it can be assumed that the density of vegetation cover does not affect this indicator, but it does affect seed productivity.

Пашкевич Н., Березніченко Ю., Подобайло А. Особливості ценопопуляцій Ascleplas syrica L. (ваточник сирійський) на перелогах Лівобережної України. Біорізноманіття, екологія та експериментальна біологія. 2023. Т. 25, № 1. С. 51–58.