Elizaveta Devyatova, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Technical Sciences of Kamchatka State University, said that Sosnovsky’s spread of pigweed in new areas of the Kamchatka Territory is associated with the development of a network of tourist routes.
According to KamSU associate professor of Biology and Earth Sciences, the plant spreads very well on the tread of automobile tires.
Sosnovsky’s hogweed belongs to alien invasive species that compete with native species and remove them from natural communities, reducing plant diversity in the ecosystem. At the same time, the expert notes that the vegetation in Kamchatka is weak. Also, when the skin comes into contact with parsnip cow juice under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, the furanocoumarins it contains – photosensitizing compounds – cause burns.
The plant was first brought to Kamchatka for testing as a silage crop at the experimental sites of the Kamchatka Agricultural Experiment Station in the village of Sosnovka. The researcher states that until the beginning of 2000, the weed did not grow outside the village outskirts for about 30 years. In 2010, hogweed was first recorded in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and in 2020 – in the center of Kamchatka.
Devyatova emphasizes that this indicates that the plant has passed acclimatization. According to him, Sosnovsky’s pigweed reduces the recreational value of the area.
At the same time, the scientist complains that in the Kamchatka Territory no measures were and are not taken to control and control plants.
Source: Ferra
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