Appearance and spreading of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) in Bosnia and Herzegovina / Pojavljanje in širjenje ambrozije (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) v Bosni in Hercegovini

Abstract

It has been more than seven decades since the first data on the presence of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) in Bosnia and Herzegovina was published. The literature data show that this invasive weed species has spread and became naturalized in a major part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and has a tendency of further spreading. It is believed that was introduced from the north and spread towards the south. Depending on the weather conditions, common ragweed occurs predominantly during the mid-spring and produces inflorescences from July until the first frost. The common ragweed plants can grow to be over 2 meters high. This species is very adaptive to different environmental conditions, and its fast expansion in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina was favored by the increase of areas under uncultivated and abandoned land after the war. Since common ragweed is harmful both as a weed species and as an allergenic plant dangerous to human health, it is necessary to take all available measures to prevent its further spread, but also to reduce the number of populations in the areas where it is already established.

Key words: common ragweed, invasive weeds, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Pred več kot 70 leti so bili objavljeni prvi podatki o pojavu ambrozije (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) v Bosni in Hercegovini. Literaturni podatki kažejo, da se je ta invazivna vrsta razširila in postala običajna v večjem delu Bosne in Hercegovine in kaže da se bo širila še naprej. Velja prepričanje, da je bila uvedena in se širila od severa proti jugu. Odvisno od vremenskih razmer se ambrozija pojavlja predvsem sredi pomladi in se na njej razvijajo socvetja od meseca julija do prve slane. Rastline ambrozije lahko zrastejo do višine preko 2 m. Vrsta se zelo prilagaja različnim okoljskim razmeram, k njenemu širjenju na območju Bosne in Hercegovine je prispevalo v času vojne tudi širjenje neobdelanih in zapuščenih zemljišč. Ker je ambrozija škodljiva tako kot plevelna rastlina, kot rastlina, ki povzroča alergije in škoduje zdravju ljudi, je nujno izvajati ukrepe za preprečevanje nadaljnjega širjenja. Zelo pomembno pa je tudi zmanjševanje števila rastlin v populacijah, kjer je že razširjena.

Ključne besede: ambrozija, invazivni pleveli, Bosna in Hercegovina