Gavrilovi ć Marijana, Rat Milica, Božin Biljana, Ana čkov Goran, Boža Pal 141 International Symposium: Current Trends in Plant Protection UDK: 632.51(497.113) Proceedings WEED SPECIES IN SYNANTROPIC FLORA OF NOVI SAD 1 2 3 2 2 GAVRILOVIĆ MARIJANA , RAT MILICA , BOŽIN BILJANA , ANA ČKOV GORAN , BOŽA PAL 1University Educons, Faculty of Environmental protection 2 University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences, Department of biology and ecology 3 University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Medicine mail: [email protected] Ruderal or syntrophic flora and vegetation are the most dynamic floristic-vegetation complex and an integral part of antropogenic environment. On one side the influence of antropogenic factors and on the other a variety of climate, topografic, geological and soil characteristics contribute to highly pronounced diversity of a weed flora. The presence of antropogenic influences have crucial importance of the emergence, development and distribution of ruderal flora and ruderal vegetation making the biotops very dynamic and unstable habitats. Horticulture has a long tradition in the city of Novi Sada which is located in the region of intensive agricultural production as a port center with international transport links and consequently is the most exposed to the introduction of new species. According to the existing data Novi Sad has the largest number of invasive species (59,7%) in Vojvodina, which indicates a need to produce a syntrophic inventory of its flora in order to list both native and introduced species. Phytogeographical analysis has been performed on syntrophic flora whith special emphasis on the analysis of the origin of introduced plant species. Furthermore, the range of life forms that indicates the caracter of antropogenically altered phytocenosis has been determined. Key words : weed species, syntrophic flora, floristic diversity, introduced species, native species, invasive species. INTRODUCTION Ruderal or synanthropic flora and vegetation embody the most dynamic floristic and vegetation complex and are an integral part of an anthropogenic environment. The diversity of anthropogenic ruderal habitats with specific combinations of micro-complexes of ecological conditions is of a key significance for accentuated anthropophilic ruderal vegetation (Šajinovi ć, 1968). Ruderal vegetation is mainly connected with anthropomorphic soil whose physical-chemical features are to that extent altered by the actions of man that they have most often lost any resemblance to the primary soil type. The physical and chemical features of soil vary, frequently reaching extreme values: from the exceptionally compact due to the trampling of compressed soil, to a skeletogenic ground filled with gravel, sand or construction surplus, and to a loose nitrophylic soil saturated with decomposing organic material. The species Plantago major L., Taraxacum officinale Weber., Polygonum aviculare L., Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. are prominent due to their exceptionally pioneering character and the ability to adapt to diverse, often extreme and 142 Weed species in synantropic flora of Novi Sad difficult conditions of ruderal habitats. However, their presence in different ruderal habitats shows a morphological and anatomical variability which points to their great phenotypic plasticity which represents an ecological flexibility of the weed flora (Stevanovi ć et al., 1988). According to the syntaxonic appraisal of vegetation in Serbia, the most represented groups which can be found in habitats under a strong anthropogenic influence belong to the following classes: Bidentetea tripartita Tx., Lohm. et Prsg. 1950; Chenopodietea albae Br.- Bl. 1951. em. Lohm., R. et J. Ty. 1961; Artemisietea vulgaris Loxm., Prsg. Et J. Tx. 1950; Agropyretea repentis Oberd., Müll. Et Görs 1967; Asplenietea rupestris Meir.et Br.-Bl. 1934; Plantaginetea majoris Tx. Et Prsg. 1950; Stellarietea mediae Tx., Lohm. et Prsg. 1950 (Koji ć, 1998). In urban habitats (industrial grounds, agricultural fields, parks, gardens) the dominant vegetation in the researched area is made up of weeds and synanthropic vegetation. An analysis of the number of weed flora species in individual biotope types of Novi Sad has pointed out that the largest representation of weeds is in the group of artificial habitats (transportation networks and other construction zones, solid arch parts, tenement buildings in city centers), in grassy habitats (dry and grass formations, moderately humid grass formations, abandoned pastures, weeds in vacated gardens) as well as coastal (pioneer and ephemeral vegetation of periodically flooded coasts). Along with the features of the habitats, the effect of the anthropogenic factors on the one hand and various influences of the climate, as well as orographic, geological and pedological features on the other, contribute to a highly stressed diversity of weed flora causing the ruderal habitats to be very dynamic but also very unstable biotopes. Weed flora adapts to these specific, frequently very negative conditions of habitats in respect to the higric and thermic regime, the character of the base, as well as in regards to mechanical impacts such as trampling, mowing, grazing, fires, etc. However, due to their great biological potential, a very emphasized dynamism which is conditioned by the instability of the ruderal habitats, a great morpho-anatomical variability as well as a lack of competition of species characteristic for the anthropogenic environment, the weed species represent natural focuses from which the species spread to natural habitats but also to arable areas (Jovanovi ć, 1998). Hitherto research of the diversity of the weed flora in the Republic of Serbia has shown that the number of weed species in the widest sense makes up about 28% of the total flora (over 1,000 species), which is an indicator of a high degree of an emphasized floristic diversity of weeds (Koji ć and Vrbani čanin, 1998, Strategy of biological diversity, 2011). Vojvodina represents a specific floral and geographical and natural-historical area in our country, and thus the flora and vegetation in it differs from the other parts of the country. The floral cover of Vojvodina is distinguished by various types of vegetation, with numerous communities of a great floral cornucopia and a complex structure (Parabu ćski and Šajinovi ć, 1982). Novi Sad is a town with a long tradition of horticulture, and it is located in an area with a concentrated agricultural production, a town which is also an international river port and thus it is very receptive to the importing of plants of foreign origin. In the flora of Novi Sad, there have lately been significant changes which have been conditioned by anthropogenic factors and which are manifested by the spreading and assimilation of a sizeable number of adventive species. The largest number of invasive species (59.72%) in Vojvodina was recorded in Novi Sad, which indicates the need to catalogue the synanthropic flora in the area of the town of Novi Sad (Sekuli ć, 2011). Until the 30s of the last century the largest number of references of ruderal flora can be found in the floristic monographs of Kupsok (1915), Prodán (1915,1916), Jávorko (1925) and Kovács (1929) (Obradovi ć, 1986). From then until the 70s of the last century, the flora and vegetation of Vojvodina has been extensively tested by Slavni ć (1951) and gives very significant data on the nitrophylic vegetation of Vojvodina, researching typical Gavrilovi ć Marijana, Rat Milica, Božin Biljana, Ana čkov Goran, Boža Pal 143 ruderal communities, the nitrophylic vegetation of swamps and the weed vegetation of grains and row crops. Numerous authors, in researching the flora of Vojvodina and the salt marshes of Ba čka, have given a contribution to the researching of adventive flora - Slavni ć, Ž. (1953, 1956, 1961,1965, 1972), Atanackovi ć, N. (1958), Obradovi ć, M., Budak, V. (1974), Obradovi ć Melanija (1974), Obradovi ć, M., Boža, P (1983), Obradovi ć and associates (1986), Janjatovi ć et al. (1980), Parabu ćski, S. (1979), Parabu ćski, S, et al. (1971, 1979), Djur čjanski, P. (1980), Boža, P., et al. (1980,1987), Boža Pal, (1979, 1980) Budak, V. (1978, 1986, 1998), Ivkovi ć Olga (1975, 1978), Vrbani čanin et al. (2000, 2004). The diversity of the weed flora of the grassland and pasture ecosystem was tested by Koji ć and Janji ć (1997), Kneževi ć (2008), Stavretovi ć (2003) while Nestorovi ć (2002, 2003, 2005, 2011), Koji ć et al. (2004), Jakovljevi ć et al. (2005, 2008), Jovanovi ć (2004) and Stankovi ć-Kalezi ć (2007) tested the weed flora of urban environments. The floristic research of weeds is significant for cataloguing and a better insight into the flora of an area, based on which can be done a detailed plant and geographic analysis and a conclusion on the origin and history of the tested weed flora (Slavni ć, 1956). This paper has carried out a taxonomic, ecological and phyto-geographical analysis of the synanthropic flora of Novi Sad, with a special stress on the analysis of the origin of allochthonic plant species as well as the range of life forms which indicate the character of anthropogenically altered phytocenosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The plant material was collected during the entire vegetation seasons of 2009 and 2010 at chosen localities in Novi Sad (Klisa, Novo Naselje, the Industrial zones North and South, along the canal, along the embankment, the Kej, Štrand). The plants were herbalized and processed via a method of classical herbalistics and deposited in the main collection of the herbalists in the Departments of Biology and Ecology of the Faculty of Sciences in Novi Sad (BUNS). The determining of the plant material was enacted by dichotomous keys based on the morphological character (Javorka, 1925). The taxonomic status and nomenclature were determined according to the Flora of Europe (Tutin et al., 1968). The belonging of the species to a certain family was determined according to Tahtajan (Tahtajan, 1997). The categorizing of species according to the appropriate life form (Raunkiaer, 1934; Pignastti, 1980) was carried out in the aim of showing a general trend and the impact of climate factors on the life forms and the strategies of plant dissemination.