Coexistence of native and non-native plant and tick species along roadsides
The biodiversity loss is rapid as never before and mainly it is caused by human activity. Roadsides are the special man-made habitats which can serve as a refugia for native plants in agro-landscape. In contrast, alien species are also closely related to man-made habitats, one of the main drivers of their distribution are transport systems either roads, railways, airports or ports. The roadsides are specific habitats, which face hard and frequent management pressure for traffic-safety reasons, frequent management could be one of the factors which reduce alien species establishment in these habitats. However, the current trend is to diminish the mowing frequency of roadsides, which in general would have a positive effect on native flora diversity or pollinators but also could accelerate alien plant invasions. In addition, the reduction of mowing raised the concern of society that the population of ticks will increase because of infrequent mowing. During this study, we will test the role of roadsides as refugia, habitats and dispersal corridors to native and alien flora, as well as a hotspot of ticks. This project will reveal how native and non-native plant species distribution relate to environmental factors such as traffic intensity, soil chemical features or management frequency. At the same time will be figured out whether is there any relation between the abundance and diversity of ticks and environmental variables as well as community functional diversity. This study will combine data from fieldwork and various databases and give new insight into an important player in shaping biodiversity and invasions.
Funded according to the agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania Nr. S-MIP-23-1.
