Eichornia crassipes is an invasive hydrophyte native to South America, now spreading throughout the tropical and subtropical zones, and even in some countries of southern Europe. The forecasts show that climate change, in particular the increase in the average annual temperature, will promote further invasion of the neophyte. In the natural and secondary range, the plant reproduces generatively, but the key of its ecological success is the ability to fast vegetative growth, which leads to a doubling of the population size every 12 days. Plant invasion in natural and semi-natural communities changes their structure and affects many elements of the ecosystem, including strong competitive impact on other plant species. Due to the growth of the water hyacinth mats, the availability of light and the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water is reduced, and this affects the number and species composition of phytoplankton, zooplankton, invertebrates and fishes. The neophyte's invasion also strongly affects humans. Shallowing of water reservoirs is conducive to the increasing number of mosquitoes carrying malaria, and the mats floating on the water reduce the navigability on rivers and hinders fishing. Despite the attempts to minimize the number of E. crassipes, the majority of its population is stable, thus efforts are underway to develop integrated methods of combating the plant, focused mainly on refining biological control methods and restoring the natural balance of aquatic ecosystems exposed to its invasion.
Full text available in Polish in Adobe Acrobat format:https://www.npt.up-poznan.net/pub/art_13_8.pdf
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| MLA | Wiatrowska, Blanka, et al. "Eichornia gruboogonkowa (Eichhornia crassipes (mart.) Solms), jedna z najbardziej inwazyjnych roślin na świecie." Nauka Przyr. Technol. 13.2 (2019): #8. https://doi.org/10.17306/J.NPT.2019.2.8 |
| APA | Blanka Wiatrowska1, Wojciech Szwed1, Przemysław Kurek2 (2019). Eichornia gruboogonkowa (Eichhornia crassipes (mart.) Solms), jedna z najbardziej inwazyjnych roślin na świecie. Nauka Przyr. Technol. 13 (2), #8 https://doi.org/10.17306/J.NPT.2019.2.8 |
| ISO 690 | WIATROWSKA, Blanka, SZWED, Wojciech, KUREK, Przemysław. Eichornia gruboogonkowa (Eichhornia crassipes (mart.) Solms), jedna z najbardziej inwazyjnych roślin na świecie. Nauka Przyr. Technol., 2019, 13.2: #8. https://doi.org/10.17306/J.NPT.2019.2.8 |
Blanka Wiatrowska
Katedra Botaniki Leśnej
Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Poznaniu
60-625 Poznań
ul. Wojska Polskiego 71 D
Poland
e-mail: bwiatrowska@interia.pl