Europe significantly increases the number of invasive plants

2008/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Botanika

The number of invasive plants has tripled in at least the last 25 years. This is evident from a study carried out in 48 European countries within the EU DAISIE project. 5,789 invasive plant species have been classified, of which 2,843 are from outside Europe. A study conducted in 1980 classified 1,568 species, 580 of which were non-European. Therefore, according to the researchers, the average species introduced in Europe is six new per year.

Most invasive species have been found in Belgium, Great Britain and the Czech Republic. Much of the new species that have been able to maintain stable plant populations are found in Britain, Germany and Belgium. Among these new species are Conyza canadensis, Helianthus tuberosus and Robinia pseudoacacia, all of them North American.