In recent decades ecologists have accorded special attention to urban areas as loci for the introduction and possible invasion of alien species. Data are lacking on urban flora that would allow having an overview of these phenomena in the Baltic Sea region including in all Scandinavia. This study seeks to address this missing information by establishing the species composition of indigenous and spontaneous alien vascular plants on the territory of Tallinn city, Estonia, and comparing the presence of alien species in the city’s greenery-rich areas with their presence more generally in Tallinn. In order to accomplish this, vegetation inventories were conducted on 10 greenery-rich 1 km² quadrants in the city and then a database of vascular plant species in Tallinn was compiled using these data together with those from other studies. Inventory data analysed using non-metric multidimensional ordination and permutation tests produced a comparison of indigenous to alien species for the whole of Tallinn. A greenery-rich city, with some tracts having areas of tens of hectares of broad compact forest and semi-natural meadows, Tallinn’s green areas account for more than one-third (35%) of its entire territory. The analysis showed that the ratio of indigenous plant species to total species in Tallinn’s greenery-rich areas was significantly higher than that for the whole of Tallinn. These green areas offer valuable habitats for the growth of indigenous species; they are centres of biodiversity and act as buffers for the urban areas by presenting obstacles to the distribution of alien species. The current situation of Tallinn with its high proportion of green areas that contribute to the dominance of indigenous species in its flora should be maintained and valued.
Chocholoušková, Z. and Pyšek, P. 2003. Changes in composition and structure of urban flora over 120 years: A case study of the city of Plzeň. Flora – Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants, 198(5), 366–376.
https:/doi.org/10.1078/0367-2530-00109
Elvisto, T. and Paluoja, E. 2011. Vascular plant flora of valuable natural habitats in Tallinn. In Human Impact on the Environment of Tallinn, VI. Conference abstracts (December 8th, 2011), pp. 66–71. Tallinn Botanical Garden–Stockholm Environment Institute, Tallinn.
Environmental Board. 2012. Vereva lemmmaltsa ohjamiskava 2013–2017 koostamine. Manuscript in Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association, Tartu (in Estonian).
Estonian Government. 2007. Looduslikku tasakaalu ohustavate võõrliikide nimekiri. RTL, 2004, 134, 2076. https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/12828512 (accessed 2015-03-01).
Estonian Weather Service. 2015. Mõõtmised maapinnal. http://www.ilmateenistus.ee/ilmatarkus/mootetehnika/mootmised-maapinnal/ (accessed 2015-12-29).
Fleischer, J. G. and Lindemann, E. 1839. Flora der deutschen Ostseeprovinzen Esth-, Liv- und Kurland. Mitau und Leipzig.
Godefroid, S., Monbaliu, D., and Koedam, N. 2007. The role of soil and microclimatic variables in the distribution patterns of urban wasteland flora in Brussels, Belgium. Landscape Urban Plan, 80(1), 45–55.
https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2006.06.001
Heugel, C. A. 1850. Über die in den Ostsee-Provinzen vorkommenden Alopecurus-Arten. Correspondenzblt. d. Naturf. Vereins zu Riga, Vol. 5, 49–54.
Holm, B., Vunk, E., Linnamägi, M., and Käis, L. 2009. Karuputke (Heracleum) võõrliikide ohjamiskava aastaks 2010. Keskkonnaamet, Tallinn. http://www.keskkonna amet.ee/public/putke_dokumendid/Karuputke_ohjamiskava_2010.pdf (accessed 2015-12-30).
Hupel, A. W. 1777. Topographische Nachrichten von Lief- and Ehstland 2. J. Fr. Hartknoch, Riga.
Jackowak, 2011. Poznań. In Plants and Habitats of European Cities (Kelcey, J. and Müller, N., eds), pp. 363–405. Springer, New York.
James, P. 2010. Urban flora: historic, contemporary and future trends. In Urban Biodiversity and Design (Müller, N., Werner, P., and Kelcey, J. G., eds), pp. 177–190. Conservation Science and Practice Series. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.
https:/doi.org/10.1002/9781444318654.ch8
Karro-Kalberg, M. 2011. Charms and chances of Tallinn’s wastelands. In Human Impact on the Environment of Tallinn, VI. Conference abstracts (December 8th, 2011), pp. 19–23. Tallinn Botanical Garden–Stockholm Environment Institute, Tallinn.
Kelcey, J. and Müller, N. 2011. Plants and Habitats of European Cities. Springer, New York.
Krall, H., Kukk, T., Kull, T., Kuusk, V., Leht, M., Oja, T., et al. 2010. Eesti taimede määraja. EMÜ – Eesti Loodusfoto, Tartu.
Kühn, I., Brandl, R., and Klotz, S. 2004. The flora of German cities is naturally species rich. Evol. Ecol. Res., 6(5), 749–764.
Kukk, T. 1991. List of Tallinn Vascular Plants. Scripta Botanica VII. Estonian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology and Botany, Tartu.
Kukk, T. 1999. Vascular Plant Flora of Estonia. Estonian Academy Publishers, Tartu–Tallinn.
Kukk, T. 2001. Taimed: Tulnukaid sama palju kui Kesk-Euroopas. In Võõrliigid Eestis: Kes on tulnuktaimed ja -loomad ning mida nendega peale hakata (Eek-Piirsoo, L., ed.), pp. 15–20. Keskkonnaministeerium, Tallinn.
Kull, K., Kukk, T., and Kull, T. 2001. Eesti taimede must raamat räägib bioinvasioonist. Eesti Loodus, 52 (5), 170–173. http://www.loodusajakiri.ee/eesti_loodus/EL/ vanaweb/0105/kalevi.html (accessed 2016-01-15).
Lososová, Z., Chytrý, M., Kühn, I., Hájek, O., Horáková, V., Pyšek, P., and Tichý, L. 2006. Patterns of plant traits in annual vegetation of man-made habitats in central Europe. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 8(2), 69–81.
https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2006.07.001
McKinney, M. L. 2006. Urbanization as a major cause of biotic homogenization. Biol. Conserv., 127(3), 247–260.
https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2005.09.005
Müller, N. 2005. Biologischer Imperialismus – zum Erfolg von Neophyten in Groβstädten der alten und neuen Welt. Artenschutzreport, 18, 49–63.
Müller, N. 2010. Most frequently occurring vascular plants and the role of non-native species in urban areas – a comparison of selected cities in the Old and the New Worlds. In Urban Biodiversity and Design (Müller, N., Werner, P., and Kelcey, J. G., eds), pp. 227–242. Conservation Science and Practice Series. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford.
Müller, N. 2011a. Augsburg. In Plants and Habitats of European Cities (Kelcey, J. and Müller, N., eds), pp. 23–51. Springer, New York.
https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89684-7
https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89684-7_2
Müller, N. 2011b. Conclusions. In Plants and Habitats of European Cities (Kelcey, J. and Müller, N., eds), pp. 579–596. Springer, New York.
https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89684-7
https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89684-7_17
Natural History Archives and Information Network (NATARC). 2015. http://natarc.ut.ee/en/index.php (accessed 2015-12-29).
Ööpik, M., Kukk, T., Kull, K., and Kull, T. 2008. The importance of human mediation in species establishment: analysis of the alien flora of Estonia. Boreal Environ. Res., 13, 53–67.
Pausas, J., Rusch, G. M., and Lepš, J. 2003. Plant functional types in relation to disturbance and land use. J. Veg. Sci., 14, 307–310.
https:/doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2003.tb02156.x
Pirrus, E. 2010. Bedrock of Tallinn. In Geology of Tallinn (Soesoo, A., ed.), pp. 70–81. Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda, Tallinn.
Ploompuu, T. and Laansoo, U. 2001. The flora and vegetation of grounds of Tallinn. In Year-book of the Estonian Naturalists’ Society, Vol. 80 (Möls, T., Kalda, A., Kongo, L., and Reintam, L., eds), pp. 108–155. Estonian Academy Publishers, Tallinn.
Prilipko, G. I. 1982. Klimat Tallina. Gidrometeoizdat, Leningrad (in Russian).
Pyšek, P. 1993. Factors affecting the diversity of flora and vegetation in central European settlements. Plant Ecol., 106(1), 89–100.
https:/doi.org/10.1007/BF00044860
Pyšek, P. 1998a. Alien and native species in Central European urban floras: a quantitative comparison. J. Biogeogr., 25, 155–163.
https:/doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.1998.251177.x
Pyšek, P. 1998b. Is there a taxonomic pattern to plant invasions? Oikos, 82, 282–294.
https:/doi.org/10.2307/3546968
Raukas, A. 2010. Topography and the Quaternary cover of Tallinn. In Geology of Tallinn (Soesoo, A., ed.), pp. 102–117. Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda, Tallinn.
Raukas, A. and Tavast, E. 2010. Bedrock topography in Tallinn. In Geology of Tallinn (Soesoo, A., ed.), pp. 90–101. Tallinna Raamatutrükikoda, Tallinn.
R Core Team. 2014. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
Rejmánek, M., Richardson, D. M., and Pyšek P. 2005. Plant invasions and invasibility of plant communities. In Vegetation Ecology (van der Maaler, E., ed.), pp. 332–355. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK.
Robal, M. 2006–2008. Paljassaare hoiuala taimestik. In Paljassaare hoiuala kaitsekorralduskava aastateks 2008–2016. MTÜ Tallinna Linnuklubi, pp. 81–98. http:// www.tallinna-linnuklubi.ee/kkk/kkk/PaljassaareKKK.pdf (accessed 2015-01-18).
Russow, E. 1862. Flora der Umgebung Revals. Archiv für die Naturk. Liv-, Ehst- und Kurlands, II Ser., Vol. 3. Dorpat.
Seidlitz, N. von. 1849. Zur Flora des Osteeprovinzen. II Ehstlands. Correspondenzblt. D. Naturf. Vereins zu Riga, 3, 127–128.
Simonová, D. and Lososová, Z. 2008. Which factors determine plant invasions in man-made habitats in the Czech Republic? Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 10(2), 89–100.
https:/doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2007.11.003
Sudnik-Wójcikowska, B. and Galera, H. 2011. Warsaw. In Plants and Habitats of European Cities (Kelcey, J. and Müller, N., eds), pp. 499–545. Springer, New York.
https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89684-7_15
Sukopp, H. 2011. Berlin. In Plants and Habitats of European Cities (Kelcey, J. and Müller, N., eds), pp. 53–78. Springer, New York.
Tallinn City Council. 2005. Tallinna haljastuse arengukava kinnitamine. Riigi Teataja, KO 2005, 104, 1099 https://riigiteataja.ee/akt/869823 (accessed 2015-12-30).
Tredici, P. D. 2010. Spontaneous urban vegetation: reflections of change in a globalized world. Nature and Culture, 5(3), 299–315.
https:/doi.org/10.3167/nc.2010.050305
Walter, J., Essl, F., Englisch, T., and Kiehn, M. 2005. Neophytes in Austria: habitat preferences and ecological effects. Neobiota, 6, 13–25.
Weeda, E. J. 2011. Maastricht. In Plants and Habitats of European Cities (Kelcey, J. and Müller, N., eds), pp. 237–273. Springer, New York.
https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89684-7_8
Wittig, R. 2004. The origin and development of the urban flora of Central Europe. Urban Ecosystems, 7(4), 323–329.
https:/doi.org/10.1007/s11252-005-6833-9
