This study examines the formation of spontaneous floras on anthropogenically transformed territories, using the park of the ‘Karpaty’ health resort (the village of Karpaty in Mukachevo raion, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine) as a model. The park has a long history: the first plantings in the landscape style date back to 1848, while between 1890 and 1895 the Schönborn counts built a palace and expanded the park. Since 1945, the area has functioned as a health resort, and in 1972 the park was designated a monument of landscape art within the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine. Currently, the dendroflora of the park, which continues to expand, includes both native and exotic species, with more than 50 taxa of trees and shrubs recorded. Some of the oldest trees are estimated to be over 150 years old. Based on original field research, the spontaneous flora of the park was surveyed, and a total of 302 species and infraspecific taxa of vascular plants belonging to 192 genera and 65 families were recorded. An annotated checklist was compiled. The results of taxonomic, biomorphological, geographic, and ecological-phytocoenotic analyses, as well as floristic fraction analysis (based on time and pathways of introduction and primary distribution areas of alien species), revealed specific characteristics of the park’s flora. The native fraction comprises 258 taxa (85.4%), significantly exceeding the alien fraction (44 taxa, 14.6%). The flora shows signs of anthropogenic transformation, as indicated by a high proportion of widely distributed species, and a heterogeneous geographical spectrum among alien taxa. The native component is dominated by species with Palearctic (33.6%), European (25.8%), and Euro-Mediterranean (18.0%) ranges. Most alien plants originate from North America (32.6%), the Mediterranean region (28.3%), and Asia (19.6%), with about 13.0% considered of anthropogenic origin. Nonetheless, the core of the spontaneous flora consists primarily of native forest and meadow species, indicating substantial resistance of the park’s vegetation cover to the spread of alien plants. The findings support a general trend of gradual alien plant enrichment in recreational areas, while native, anthropotolerant species continue to play a dominant ecological role.
Shynder et al. (Tue,) studied this question.