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Asian Wolffia globosa (Roxb.) Hartog & Plas (Araceae) in Bohemian Wetlands – a new macrophyte for Czechia

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Abstract

Wolffia globosa is a small free-floating aquatic plant native to the Southeast Asia and invasive in Europe. Between the years 2017 and 2022 it has been found in Czechia for the first time in this country in wetland habitats at seven sites. Occurrences of alien W. globosa were first recorded in the Central Bohemia region inside the Site of Community Importance Libické luhy, then by two sewage treatment plants and one adjacent fishpond in South Bohemia and in the Elbe River near the cities of Přelouč, Lysá and Labem, Obříství and Hřensko. At four sites, W. globosa has been recorded in flowing waters for the first time in Europe. The mode of introduction remains unknown.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank dr. Zdeněk Kaplan for personal communications and discussions on the topic. The authors express their gratitude to University of Hradec Králové, Povodí Labe, state enterprise and University of South Bohemia for all possible support.

Funding

The first author is grateful to Specific research PřF UHK 2116/2016 for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Hradec Králové, Hradec Králové, 500 03, Czechia

    Michal Vávra

  2. Povodí Labe, Hradec Králové, 500 03, Czechia

    Michal Vávra & Jan Špaček

  3. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czechia

    Petr Koutecký

  4. Landscape Analysis and Nature Conservation Planning, Düsseldorf, 40591, Germany

    Ulf Schmitz

  5. Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Průhonice, 252 43, Czechia

    Jan Rydlo

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  1. Michal Vávra
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Correspondence to Michal Vávra.

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Vávra, M., Špaček, J., Koutecký, P. et al. Asian Wolffia globosa (Roxb.) Hartog & Plas (Araceae) in Bohemian Wetlands – a new macrophyte for Czechia. Biologia 79, 1139–1145 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-023-01413-7

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