Alien plant species in Kazakhstan
The first comprehensive verified inventory of alien vascular plants in Kazakhstan, utilising literature, herbarium collections, field observations and online databases, e.g. iNaturalist has been published. The alien flora of Kazakhstan comprises of 263 taxa in 181 genera and 54 families. Of these 141 taxa (53.6%) are naturalized, 120 are casual, and two have unresolved establishment status. Species within the family Asteraceae comprise the most records (47 taxa), followed by Poaceae (30), Brassicaceae (20), Fabaceae (20), Amaranthaceae (15), and Lamiaceae (14). The origin of alien taxa in Kazakhstan comes from across the globe, with the Mediterranean region forming the largest biogeographical group (39.9%), followed by taxa from North America (22.8%). Many taxa are associated with human-modified habitats; 75 taxa (28.5%). Twenty taxa are invasive based on an assessment using the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) (Table 1). Of these twenty taxa, 17 have moderate impacts and three have major impacts.
Table 1. Twenty invasive alien plant species found in Kazakhstan (Impact is based on the assessment using Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa EICAT)
Species | Family | Origin | Impact |
Acer negundo | Sapindaceae | Asia | Moderate |
Ailanthus altissima* | Simaroubaceae | Asia | Moderate |
Ambrosia artemisiifolia** | Asteraceae | North America | Moderate |
Ambrosia psilostachya* | Asteraceae | North America | Moderate |
Ambrosia trifida** | Asteraceae | North America | Moderate |
Centaurea diffusa | Asteraceae | Mediterranean | Major |
Cuscuta campestris | Convolvulaceae | North America | Major |
Cuscuta chinensis | Convolvulaceae | Asia | Moderate |
Elodea canadensis | Hydrocharitaceae | North America | Moderate |
Erigeron annuus | Asteraceae | North America | Moderate |
Erigeron canadensis | Asteraceae | North America | Moderate |
Euonymus europaeus | Celastraceae | Europe | Moderate |
Fraxinus excelsior | Oleaceae | Europe | Moderate |
Hordeum jubatum | Poaceae | North America | Moderate |
Iva xanthiifolia | Asteraceae | North America | Major |
Orobanche aegyptiaca | Orobanchaceae | Mediterranean | Moderate |
Pilosella aurantiaca | Asteraceae | Europe | Moderate |
Senecio viscosus | Asteraceae | Europe | Moderate |
Xanthium orientale | Asteraceae | North America | Moderate |
Xanthium spinosum | Asteraceae | North America | Moderate |
* EPPO List of Invasive Alien Plants
** EPPO A2 List
Sources
Alibekov D, Kubentayev S, Nobis M, Chepinoga V, Ishmuratova M, Sennikov AN (2026) Alien Vascular Plants of Kazakhstan: The first national checklist and spatial distribution patterns. Plants 15, 2934, https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15192934