This edition is a key output of the international project DIAS implemented by Karelian and Finnish scientists from 2019 through 2021. As we learned from the project’s research leader, Leading Researcher at the Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS Aleksey Polevoy, a special web portal was created by researchers during the action, gathering detailed information about invasive species in Karelia. This website is interactive: residents and visitors of Karelia can upload information about their encounters with invasive species. This is a way to add information to the database, which was also created within the project.
– Our database of invasive species was included in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and is available to scientists around the world, – Aleksey Polevoy noted.
An important component of the project was outreach: scientists told about invasive species through mass and social media, organized master classes on combating the dangerous aliens.
Leading Researcher from the Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS Aleksey Kravchenko explained that, sensu stricto, the term invasive applies to species that harm the native ecosystems after introduction to a new territory – they displace native species from the communities they invade. Sensu lato, invasive species are also harmful for the human population and agriculture. E.g., Sosnowsky’s hogweed grows in forest edges and roadsides without reaching deeper into the woods, but it’s the most dangerous invasive species for people in Karelia – it can inflict severe burns. The scientist noted, on the other hand, that invasive species may have some useful properties, too.
– Editions containing information on invasive species are called black books, but such species can also play a positive role. Lupine, for instance, adds color to our bleak roadsides and can even restrain fire propagation due to its lush biomass. Canadian pondweed, which congests shallow bodies of water, can be used as compost. These qualities of invasive species are also mentioned in this book, – Aleksey Kravchenko added.
The structure of this edition, prepared by more than 30 contributors, was represented in more detail by its Science Editor, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS Oleg Kuznetsov. The book is made up of 52 species entries with a description of the species morphology and biology, information on its natural distribution and the history of dispersal in Russia and Karelia, its role in ecosystems, harmful impacts and control methods. The entries are supplied with photographs, maps, and references. Entry sizes vary as for some species scientists have plenty of distribution information while for others it is limited to few records.
The scientist also told about the introduction pathways: e.g., species can be imported with planting stock or foods. Such cases are partially captured by regulatory phytosanitary and veterinary control but not all invasive species are listed as subject to quarantine. Further expansion of aliens is promoted by climate warming. E.g., the taiga tick – vector of tick-borne encephalitis, used to have a mid-boreal distribution in Karelia in the 1990s. Its present-day distribution has expanded to cover both western districts of the republic and its north-boreal parts.
– Some countries have government programs to control and eradicate invasive species. We also have species that need to be addressed – monitoring should be carried out and relevant actions taken, – Oleg Kuznetsov remarked.
Concluding her talk, KarRC RAS Director General Olga Bakhmet emphasized that the project was implemented by a large team of researchers working on a large scope with people of Karelia involved.
– The work does no end here – the database will continue being updated. We’d like to keep up the collaboration with people of the republic to specify the distribution ranges of invasive species and, certainly, to continue interacting with authorities. Timely decision-making on key problems is essential, – Director General said.
Only 300 hard copies of the book “Invasive Plants and Animals in Karelia” were printed but the electronic version will be in open access via this link. The authors hope that the edition will be of interest not only for specialists in the field but also for university professors and students, schoolchildren, and for any person caring for the nature of their native land.
