Getting swamped: Australian swamp stonecrop (Crassula helmsii) in the UK
In January this year, large parts of southern Australia were ablaze with fierce bush fires, while most of the UK was covered in snow. Half a world away from each other, and at one point nearly 40ºC apart, there aren’t too many similarities to be drawn between the two locations. And yet, there is a…
Rhododendron ponticum – much more than just an invasive weed!
Rhododendron ponticum, native to southern Europe and south west Asia was introduced into the UK in the 18th Century. Since then, this plant has grown uncontrollably and is now a common sight throughout western parts of the British Isles in areas such as Cornwall, Wales and parts of Scotland and Ireland. Despite producing an attractive…
Asian longhorn beetle – A clear case for early eradication
It was confirmed last month that the first population of the forestry pest, the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB), was found in Kent, UK. Forest Research scientists discovered this damaging native of Japan and China infesting around 20 trees, and are now surveying the area to find out the full extent of the infestation. The establishment…
Lantana – a battle not yet over!
I’m really pleased to see a more sensible discussion going on about the realities of invasive species management thanks to the article in Invasive plant News which involved one of our regional Coordinators for Invasives Arne Witt from our CABI Africa Centre. The crux of the issue was the naïve use of the word eradication…
The value of costing nature in the fight against invasive species
Increasingly we are seeing the terms ‘ecosystem services’, ‘ecosystem functioning’ and ‘ecosystem processes’ in the media and the scientific literature, to highlight the benefits the natural environment provides to our wellbeing. Invasive species, from bivalves to balsams, have the potential to impact on ecosystem services, though it is widely accepted that there are gaps in…
Rusty Solutions for a Prickly Problem
The state of Queensland has got an alien thorny invader: Prickly acacia, or in scientific terms Acacia nilotica subspecies nilotica. Prickly acacia is a shrub or small tree which belongs to the plant family Leguminosae, subfamily Mimosoideae, a family which also accommodates the sensitive plant Mimosa pudica, well-known as a curiosity house plant. The prickly…
Alien Battlefield
Recent articles in Science, the NY Times and Nature have suggested that we should embrace invasive species and the resultant “novel ecosystems” and that those that do battle with such species are verging on xenophobic. This is a common cycle in many fields and I’m told that a discussion thread is considered closed once a…
The Nagoya protocol and biological control by Matthew Cock
Since 2009, I have worked with the Global Commission on Biological Control and Access & Benefit Sharing of the International Organisation for Biological Control to raise awareness of the issues relating to biological control which may be affected under the Convention on Biological Diversity’s access and benefit sharing protocol which was finally agreed at COP10…