Threatened plant species in the river ports of Central Europe: a potential for nature conservation

Identification of Ecological Hotspots Using the Eco-track: Case of Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India

Ecological conservation and sustainable land management are vital endeavors in the face of rising anthropogenic pressures and habitat deterioration. Accurate and effective evaluation techniques are essential for identifying regions that are of ecological relevance and concern. The present research introduces an innovative approach using geospatial tools to detect natural hotspots and deficits within a landscape. The research incorporates six essential ecological parameters, namely spatial variability, vegetation health, road network connectivity, fragmentation, biological richness, and habitat areas, obtained from existing literature studies. These parameters indicate the overall health of ecosystems and the extent of biodiversity present, which are crucial for developing effective strategies for ecological planning. The research project aims to use geospatial applications to identify the "ecological rich", "ecological moderate" or "ecological deficit" areas in the study area and to establish a model framework for automating the geospatial analysis. The resulting map offers a comprehensive and practical depiction of the ecological condition of the landscape, facilitating decision-makers in strategically allocating resources for conservation and restoration initiatives. The importance of this research resides in its capacity to streamline and automate what was previously a time-consuming and labor-intensive procedure. This innovative approach empowers conservationists, land managers, and policymakers with a powerful tool "Eco-track' to identify and prioritize ecological hotspots and deficits, ultimately fostering more effective and targeted efforts in preserving the natural heritage.

Alien plants in Central European river ports

River ports represent a special type of urbanized area. They are considered to be an important driver of biological invasion and biotic homogenization on a global scale, but it remains unclear how and to what degree they serve as a pool of alien species. Data for 54 river ports (16 German, 20 Czech, 7 Hungarian, 3 Slovak, and 8 Austrian ports) on two important Central European waterways (the Elbe-Vltava and Danube waterways) were collected over 40 years. In total, 1056 plant species were found. Of these, 433 were alien, representing 41% of the total number of species found in all the studied Elbe, Vltava, and Danube ports. During comparison of floristic data from literary sources significant differences in the percentage of alien species in ports (50%) and cities (38%) were found. The number of alien species was closely related to port size, but the proportion of alien species expressed as a percentage of the total number of species did not depend significantly on port area. The proportion of alien species in both studied waterways decreased with distance from the sea and was highest in the Hungarian ports and lowest in the Czech Republic, Austria and Bavaria. Lower levels of shipping towards inland regions due to decreased river flow are likely the reason for this trend. The dissimilarity in the species composition of alien and native flora between individual river ports increased with increasing inter-port distance. Neophytes presented a stronger distance decay pattern than did either native species or archaeophytes of the Danube inland ports, potentially due to the different cargoes of individual ports, which may affect the introduction of different neophytes from different geographic areas. The results show that river ports in Central Europe should be regarded as a type of industrial area and deserve full attention with regard to the distribution and spread of alien plants.