Biodiversity Data Journal (May 2024)

Alien plant species distribution in Romania: a nationwide survey following the implementation of the EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species

  • Paulina Anastasiu,
  • Iulia Miu,
  • Athanasios Gavrilidis,
  • Cristina Preda,
  • Laurentiu Rozylowicz,
  • Culita Sirbu,
  • Adrian Oprea,
  • Mihaela Urziceanu,
  • Petronela Camen-Comanescu,
  • Eugenia Nagoda,
  • Daniyar Memedemin,
  • Marius Barbos,
  • Violeta Boruz,
  • Alina Cislariu,
  • Ioan Don,
  • Marius Fagaras,
  • Jozsef Frink,
  • Ioana Georgescu,
  • Ovidiu Haruta,
  • Bogdan-Iuliu Hurdu,
  • Attila Matis,
  • Sretco Milanovici,
  • Sorana Muncaciu,
  • Alina Neacsu,
  • Monica Neblea,
  • Alma Nicolin,
  • Mariana Niculescu,
  • Silvia Oroian,
  • Oliviu Pop,
  • Daniel Radutoiu,
  • Mihaela Samarghitan,
  • Ioana Simion,
  • Liliana Soare,
  • Corina Steiu,
  • Emilia Stoianov,
  • Daniela Strat,
  • Anna Szabo,
  • Paul Szatmari,
  • Corneliu Tanase,
  • Marian Mirea,
  • Nicolae Manta,
  • Ioana Sirbu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e119539
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12
pp. 1 – 20

Abstract

Read online Read online Read online

Biological invasions pose an increasing risk to nature, social security and the economy, being ranked amongst the top five threats to biodiversity. Managing alien and invasive species is a priority for the European Union, as outlined in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Alien plant species are acknowledged to impact the economy and biodiversity; thus, analysing the distribution of such species provides valuable inputs for the management and decision-making processes. The database presented in the current study is the first consolidated checklist of alien plant species that are present in Romania, both of European Union concern and of national interest. This database complements a prior published distribution, based only on records from literature, bringing new information regarding the occurrence of alien plants in Romania, as revealed by a nationwide field survey. We consider this database a valuable instrument for managing biological invasions at both national and regional levels, as it can be utilised in further research studies and in drafting management and action plans, assisting stakeholders in making informed decisions and implementing management actions.We present the results of the first nationwide survey of alien plant species in Romania, conducted between 2019 and 2022, in the framework of a national project coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forests and the University of Bucharest. The present database complements and updates the database published by Sirbu et. al (2022), which included occurrence records published until 2019. The new database includes 98323 occurrence records for 396 alien plant species in 77 families, with most species belonging to the Asteraceae family. One alien plant species in our database, the black locust Robinia pseudoacacia L., had more than 10,000 occurrence records. The distribution database also includes information on newly-reported invasive alien plant species of European Union concern in Romania (i.e. the floating primrose-willow Ludwigia peploides (Kunth) P.H.Raven) and documents the presence of plants in 44 additional families compared to Sirbu et al. (2022). Each entry includes information on species taxonomy, location, year, person who recorded and identified the alien plant, geographical coordinates and taxon rank.

Keywords