The master thesis presents non-native vines, Echinocystis lobata and Parthenocissus
quniquefolia agg. that colonise riparian zones spreading over native vegetation. Based on the
literature data, the characteristics of invasive alien and native plant species are defined. The
research took place in the riparian zone of the Krka River. We compared the vines according to
their impact on the physical environment in which they grow. We examined leaf morphology,
biochemical, and optical properties of both invasive species as well as of the native host species
Salix caprea and Salix fragilis. Measurements were performed at ten locations where invasive
species were present and at ten locations without these alien species. We also performed
measurements of environmental parameters namely air and soil temperature, air and soil
humidity, radiation outside and inside the vegetation stand and in addition photochemical
efficiency of FSⅡ in plant leaves. The vines altered the radiation environment of its hosts, but
did not affect the biochemical structure of willow leaves. Both vines had a higher specific leaf
area (SLA) and a lower leaf tissue density compared to willows, and at the same time, the leaves
of the P. quniquefolia were thicker than the leaves of the E. lobata. Optical properties varied
markedly between vines and comparing vines and native willow in certain regions of the
spectrum. Compared to willows, vines reflected less light in the UV spectrum and more in the
green spectrum.
The redundancy analysis revealed that biochemical parameters namely, chlorophyll a,
anthocyanins, and UV-B– and UV-A–absorbing compounds explained 45 %, while the analysis
with morphological parameters showed that SLA, leaf and upper cuticle thickness explained 43
% of the reflectance spectra variability. When redundancy analysis was run to explain the
variability of leaf transmittance, UV-B– and UV-A–absorbing compounds, carotenoids, and
anthocyanins explained 53 %. The analysis with morphological parameters showed that SLA
explained 51 % of spectra variability.
Data shows that alien vines could be discerned from each other and their hosts by their spectral
signatures.
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