IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i3p324-d1582049.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Forewarned Is Forearmed: Documentation on the Invasion Risk of Asclepias speciosa in Greece and Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Nikos Krigas

    (Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELGO-Dimitra), P.O. Box 60458, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
    Department of Viticulture, Floriculture & Plant Protection, Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELGO DIMITRA), 71307 Heraklion, Greece)

  • Catherine Dijon

    (Unaffiliated, Stavrodromi, 62055 Sintiki, Greece)

  • Ioulietta Samartza

    (Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetic Resources, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELGO-Dimitra), P.O. Box 60458, Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
    Laboratory of Systematic Botany, Department of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 11855 Athens, Greece)

  • Dimitrios N. Avtzis

    (Forest Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization Demeter (ELGO-Dimitra), P.O. Box 1063, Vassilika, 57006 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Ioannis Anestis

    (Laboratory of Floriculture, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Elias Pipinis

    (Laboratory of Silviculture, School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece)

  • Zigmantas Gudžinskas

    (Nature Research Centre, Institute of Botany, Žaliųjų Ežerų Str. 49, LT-12200 Vilnius, Lithuania)

Abstract

Biological invasions threaten biodiversity and agroecosystems, and early warning systems can minimise the spread of invasive alien species with limited resources. This study documents the presence of the alien plant Asclepias speciosa Torr., native to North America, that was first discovered in 2022 on Mount Vrontou, Central Macedonia, Northern Greece. This is the second European record of this alien species, after Lithuania, confirming its adaptability to contrasting European biogeographical regions. To enable future monitoring, this study provided new data on morphological traits of the species (above-ground parts), climatic tolerance (precipitation and temperature regimes), habitats with co-occurring species, pollinators, current reproductive potential, and seed germination at controlled temperatures (10 °C, 15 °C, and 20 °C). The high probability of misidentification with the highly invasive A. syriaca in European inventories supports the theory that A. speciosa may have been present in Europe long before it was officially reported. The lack of an EU-mandated reassessment of A. syriaca monitoring raises concerns regarding the potential invasion risk of A. speciosa in European natural and semi-natural areas or agricultural lands. Inspection mechanisms, early warning systems, and preventive measures are therefore essential to protect local biodiversity and agriculture from potential A. speciosa invasion, a risk that may be exacerbated by climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikos Krigas & Catherine Dijon & Ioulietta Samartza & Dimitrios N. Avtzis & Ioannis Anestis & Elias Pipinis & Zigmantas Gudžinskas, 2025. "Forewarned Is Forearmed: Documentation on the Invasion Risk of Asclepias speciosa in Greece and Europe," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-23, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:324-:d:1582049
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/324/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/3/324/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Márton Bence Balogh & Miklós Kertész & Katalin Török & Georgina Veronika Visztra & Péter Szilassi, 2023. "Changes in the Occurrence of Five Invasive Plant Species in Different Ecosystem Types between 2009–2018 in Hungary," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:3:p:324-:d:1582049. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.