Development of technology for growing seeds of hemiparasitic plants and its application
Development of technology for growing seeds of hemiparasitic plants
and its application in reducing invasive species in lowland meadow wetlands
Wetlands historically functioned as important water reservoirs in the country, as a natural air conditioner, and at the same time they were known for the occurrence of many wetland communities. In recent decades, however, they have become highly endangered biotopes negatively affected by overgrowth. They are also among the biotopes most threatened by the spread of aggressive invasive and expansive species, which include the reed Phragmites australis, the asters Symphyotrichum lanceolatum, and the goldenrod Solidago sp. This results in the community becoming homogeneous with minimal diversity of the original biota. The proposed project will provide a new environmental solution, particularly for the threatened and deteriorating lowland wet meadows which suffer from long term lack of appropriate care. These biotopes often offer diverse habitats and have characteristic communities.
The proposed project involves controlling plant invasions and reed overgrowth in eutrophic lowland wet meadows using semi-parasitic species Odontites vernus and Melampyrum arvense. The project will also include monitoring of the development of plant and animal biodiversity in wetlands threatened by plant invasions. These hemiparasites are a natural component of wetland habitats, meadows, and pastures in lowlands throughout Central Europe. Their use thus represents an example of biotic resistance to biological invasions. We hypothesize that the use of hemiparasites to control invasive species in combination with mowing or cattle grazing is a significantly more effective measure than either of the management measures alone. This is because grazing and mowing only removes biomass that grows above ground, whereas hemiparasitic plants obtain resources from underground organs of host plants, which can be lethal to invasive plants. At the same time, we expect a positive effect on native wetland plant species and an increase in overall biodiversity of the wetland. This will help restore the disturbed landscape and strengthen its ecological stability. A multidisciplinary approach will allow for comprehensive biodiversity monitoring, providing an important variable for evaluating the impact of implemented measures and the subsequent use of the knowledge gained in the care of other wetlands.