Department of Forestry and
Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus
University of Thrace,
Pantazidou, 68 100 Orestiada, Greece
I. Fraggakis
Department of Forestry and
Management of Natural Environment, Technological Education Institute
of Lamia,
Karpenissi 361 00, Greece
Publication Data
Paper received:
22
March 2010
Revised
received:
20
October 2010
Re-revised
received:
29
December 2010
Accepted:
08 January 2011
Abstract
Ailanthus altissima is an invasive
species for the native flora of Greece and it could pose a
serious threat to the biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems. The
purpose of this study was to investigate the spreading of Ailanthus altissima in urban and non urban areas of North and Central Greece and also to evaluate the effects of its
spreading on species composition and floristic diversity in natural
ecosystems. The spreading of Ailanthus altissima
in urban areas is very intense, mainly in abandoned places (35.29%). It is
commonly found in non urban areas of Greece, especially in hedgerows
of arable lands (36%) and adjacent wetlands (17%). It is less common in
forests (4%), shrublands (11%) and grasslands (9%).
The spread of Ailanthus altissima in urban
and natural ecosystems is relatively recent. Although it has been recorded at
altitudes of up to 640 m, it usually appears at low altitudes of up to 200 m.
Floristic diversity was found to be higher in the stands that it dominated
(H?=1.574, H?=1.890) in comparison to stands that were dominated by Quercuspubescens
(H?=1.468) or Q. coccifera (H?=1.716). This
may be contributed to the fact that in those stands synanthropic
species, which are usually found in regions of intense human activity, were
present together with typical forest vegetation species.
Key
words
Invasive species, Ailanthus
altissima, Floristic diversity,
Mediterranean area
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