ABSTRACT
Background: 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. New information: 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 Robiniapseudoacacia 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 Ludwigiapeploides (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.
ABSTRACT
This paper contributes to the ecotoxicological risk assessment of the Actellic 50 EC insecticide (with 50% pirimiphos-methyl as the active substance) tested on non-target organisms. The insecticide concentrations tested were the same for all organisms (0.1, 0.01, and 0.001 mg L-1 of Actellic 50 EC), with an exposure of 3-5-21 days for plants and 4-5-14 days for animals. The non-target organisms tested were both plants (wheat and two ferns) and animals (the Prussian carp and marsh frog tadpoles). The tested insecticide significantly inhibited the growth of roots in wheat, a result that was also confirmed by a microbiotest application (62% root growth inhibition in sorghum and 100% germination inhibition in white mustard and garden cress). In ferns, even for the lowest concentration, the percentage of germinated spores was inhibited by 40% for Asplenium scolopendrium. The recorded toxicological effects of Actellic 50 EC upon the Prussian carp included a decrease in the respiratory rate and oxygen consumption, an increase in the number of erythrocytes and leukocytes, and an increase in blood glucose levels. The highest concentration (0.1 mg L-1 of Actellic 50 EC) caused a 50% decrease in the survival rate of marsh frog tadpoles after 5 days of exposure, negatively affecting body volume and length. Given the high degree of toxicity of the insecticide Actellic 50 EC, we recommend continuing investigations on non-target species, including both plants and animals, as the sub-chronic effects are quite little known in the scientific literature.
