Spread and control of Sosnowsky's hogweed in Rezekne Municipality [Latvia]
2017
Zvaigzne, A., Rezekne Academy of Technologies (Latvia) | Kotane, I., Rezekne Academy of Technologies (Latvia)
As the area invaded by Sosnowsky’s hogweed increased in Rezekne Municipality, an increasing number of local residents, including agricultural land owners/managers could suffer from coming into contact with this plant. According to research studies, invasive species promote uncontrolled changes in the ecosystem, endangering agriculture and negatively affecting the economy. The research aim is to examine the spread of Sosnowsky's hogweed and the opinions of local residents on the control of this invasive species in Rezekne Municipality. Sosnowsky's hogweed spreads in Latvia as a whole, including Rezekne Municipality. In the rural territory of Berzgale of Rezekne Municipality, Sosnowsky's hogweed has spread the most. A survey of randomly selected territories did not identify considerable differences in the spread of Sosnowsky's hogweed between 2012 and 2016. According to a survey of residents living in Rezekne Municipality, the residents chose mainly the cheapest methods to control Sosnowsky's hogweed, and only a small proportion of them believed that they had sufficient knowledge of control methods for Sosnowsky's hogweed. The present research employed the following research methods: monographic and descriptive, analysis, synthesis, statistical analysis and a sociological method – a survey. The Wilcoxon test was employed to analyse field data and compare territories. The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) and the tools of the R program and Microsoft Excel were employed to process the data. The research was based on the survey of residents, research papers, field studies, State Plant Protection Service data, information provided by Rezekne Municipality and other information sources.
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