Forestry and horticulture as pathways of plant invasions: a database of alien woody plants in the Czech Republic
Abstract
Recent checklists, overviews and databases of alien floras for European countries do not pay special attention to woody plants. Majority of the checklists cover only taxa that occur in the wild.
Woody plants are suitable subject of studies on plant invasions because detailed records of introduction for forestry and horticultural purposes are available. This paper provides information on the database of alien woody species in the Czech Republic.
Trees, shrubs and woody vines with mean height exceeding 0.5 m are included. In total, 126 characteristics covering taxonomy, geography, invasion, history of planting, biology and ecology, horticulture, and use were collected for each species.
Although some characteristics in the database are specific for the Czech Republic, most information is applicable to the whole of Central Europe and potentially also to other temperate climate regions. The basic information on the structure of cultivated woody plants is presented.