Ecological strategies of decorative invasive tree and shrub plant species in the city’s green infrastructure

Abstract

Natural and semi-natural areas of Chernihiv (Ukraine) represents the green infrastructure of an average-sized Eastern European city in the continental biogeographical region. In total, 93 decorative species and forms of tree and shrub plants are used for the city landscaping, and 17 of them are invasive in green infrastructure. As such there is a need to develop sustainable approaches to control the spread of alien plants. For this purpose, the invasive plant species ecological strategies were investigated. According to the classification of J.P. Grime (1988, 2006), the decorative cultivated plants of invasive species belong to three categories: сompetitors (C-strategists), stress tolerators (S-strategists) and ruderal plants (R-strategists)