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Description
The need to implement the project results from the necessity to conduct activities aimed at elimination threats to human health and the environment related to the existence of borscht stands Sosnowski in the Leżajsk Commune.
According to the recommendations presented in the "Guidelines for the control of Sosnowski''s hogweed (heracleum sosnowskyi) and Mantegazzi''s borscht (heracelum mantegazzianum) in Poland", in the project, the use of a combined mechanical and chemical method was planned. Actions will be implemented for three years, from March 2022 to April 2024. The implementation of the project in question will allow to carry out coordinated actions aimed at the elimination of sources of spread Sosnowski''s borscht and to control the occurrence of this species in the environment. Utilization of cut plants will be carried out by disposal to a landfill.
In the Leżajsk Commune, Sosnowski''s borscht occurs on the area of 58.64 ha, including 57.38 ha land belonging to private persons and 1.26 ha land belonging to the commune.
The chemical method will involve the use of chemicals with sprayers backpacks in places of large, extensive plant clusters and herbicide markers or injection herbicides in stalks where single specimens are present. Such action will eliminate negative impact of herbicides on the environment. The mechanical method will be cutting the root neck. This method is said to be the only mechanical method which causes the plant to die.
Project effects: reducing the population of Sosnowski''s borscht, restoration and conservation of biodiversity and protection of habitats, increasing public awareness of the dangers posed by Sosnowski''s borscht
Summary of project results
The need to implement the project resulted from the need to carry out activities aimed at eliminating the threat to human health and the natural environment related to the existence of Sosnowski hogweed stands in the Leżajsk commune.
Sosnowski''s hogweed is one of the most toxic plants in Poland. Their juice contains a number of compounds, including furanocoumarins, which have photosensitizing properties, i.e. they sensitize the body (mainly the skin of humans and animals) to sunlight. These compounds, in the presence of sunlight, especially UVA and UVB rays, bind to the DNA of skin cells and cause second and third degree burns (photodermatosis).
The implementation of the project in question allowed for coordinated activities aimed at eliminating the sources of the spread of Sosnowski hogweed and controlling the occurrence of this species in the environment. Systematic repetition of treatments for several years gave a chance to stop the further development of the Sosnowski hogweed invasion. The total area of the plots covered by the task was 68.32 ha.
The project plans to use a combined mechanical and chemical method.
The chemical method involved the application of chemicals using sprayers
backpacks in places of large, extensive clusters of plants and herbicide daubers or injecting herbicides into the stems where there were single plants. This action helped eliminate the negative impact of herbicides on the environment. The mechanical method involved cutting the root neck. This method is said to be the only mechanical method that causes the plant to die. Death occurs as a result of depletion of nutritional resources stored in the root. The procedure involved cutting the root with a sharp spade. This method was applied to single individuals.
Project Effects:
- reducing the population of Sosnowski hogweed,
- restoration and preservation of biodiversity and habitat protection
- increasing public awareness of the dangers posed by Sosnowski''s hogweed
The experience gained has shown that activities aimed at eliminating Sosnowski''s hogweed must be carried out regularly in subsequent years, from spring to autumn, to bring measurable results. Activities carried out within the project have brought the expected results. Fighting this invasive species is very difficult, but successive work has allowed to reduce the number of this plant and prevented its spread in the commune. Due to the high costs of implementing the project, as well as the need to carry out the work regularly for subsequent years, it would be difficult for the commune to finance all expenses from the budget. Thanks to the funding received from the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, which amounted to 85% of eligible expenses, the commune was able to undertake the implementation of this project. Another important issue was the dissemination of information about the threats related to the presence of Sosnowski hogweed in the environment and effective methods of combating this plant. The information and promotional activities carried out enabled the commune residents to become familiar with the issues raised in the project and disseminated knowledge about the sources of project financing, i.e. the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area for 2014-2021.