A species that quickly occupies a given area, which spreads naturally or with human assistance and threatens native organisms, is called an invasive species. Such a species competes with native plants and can lead to their extinction. Populations of invasive species are a huge threat to the biodiversity of valuable refuges. What can we do to fight them?
What can invade open territories?
In the Pobiedziska municipality area, goldenrods from North America – Canadian and late – are spreading. They create golden fields on fallow lands, meadows, or forest edges. They captivate with their flowers and make their way into our gardens. We should say goodbye to them and remove them from our flower beds, as this is a highly invasive species that spreads over long distances through seeds and grows vigorously through rhizomes, and the fight against it is tough. If we see individual clumps, we can dig them out, while on larger areas, the best way is to limit expansion through regular mowing before flowering.
Invasive Shrubs and Trees
Other species we should avoid in our gardens or urban plantings are tree and shrub species such as black cherry, red oak, black locust, and ash-leaf maple. These species are a strong threat to forest ecosystems. They cause us to lose the natural character of deciduous forests, such as oak-hornbeam forests or riverside alder forests. We should absolutely remove them from our gardens, plots, and refrain from planting them in urban areas. Monumental specimens, being far from valuable natural habitats, we leave, an example being the monumental specimen of black locust at the parish of St. Michael the Archangel. However, do not plant new specimens, even if they are attributed with high nectar production or an interesting appearance.
Natalia Jędrzejczak, biologist, „Kasztelania Ostrowska” Association
English (UK) 
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