Dear Florencia,

visit the page of Daisie with the 100 worst invasives in Europe here: http://www.europe-aliens.org/speciesTheWorst.do

Zoltán

Dear Florencia,

... and maybe Bromus carinatus.

This grass is often used for control of erosion and revegetation of damaged land.

Anna

There's a list of plants deemed to be among the 100 worst invasive species in Europe (according to the DAISIE project) here: http://www.europe-aliens.org/speciesTheWorst.do. There's also a list on page 105 of the EEA's SEBI report here: http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/technical_report_2007_11. There is some overlap between the lists but there are some distinct species on each.

They are not annuals but Heracleum mantegazzianum and Fallopia japonica are found along road sides and cause severe problems.

I think that you will have to more specific regarding the place you will do your experiment. For instance, I know that solidago spp. are widely present and abundant along roads in central Europe, but I did not observe them that much in the Netherland. Fallopia japponica is another nice example of a problematic invasive species in road sides.

http://www.europe-aliens.org/speciesTheWorst.do

Thank you all for your suggestions! To aswer Maarten I'm currenlty working in Germany, but my experiment is planned to be in the greenhouse at this early stage.

In northern Spain, Conyza sumatrensis and Aster squamatus are very common, and Conyza bilbaoana too (more than C. canadensis, who until now has been confused)

As other researchers have suggested, me to write to see:

http://www.europe-aliens.org/speciesTheWorst.do.

In Italy, besides Erigeron sp. pl. and Conyza sp. pl., particularly in Tuscany, Amaranthus sp. pl., Amorpha fruticosa, Artemisia verlotiorum, Aster squamatus, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Cyperus glomeratus, Galinsoga parviflora, Helianthus tuberosus , Paspalum dilatatum, Paspalum distichum, Phytolacca americana, Reynoutria x bohemica, Sorghum halepense, are invaders!

Lucia

.......Ambrosia is no.1 of course, and then what abut Solidago canadensis?

Carpobrotus must be also in the list, and Ailanthus altissima and Robinia pseudoacacia as trees and Caulerpa taxifolia in the seas as thret for the Posidonia meadows

You could also check the European Alien Species Information Network (http://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/). Try the 'combined criteria search' in 'Tools/Services' and select 'Terrestrial' 'Plantae' and 'High Impact'. Apart from the list of high-impact plants (based on DAISIE, NOBANIS, SEBI and CABI) you can also produce distribution maps of one or more species. By pressing the green buttons next to each species you will get relevant information (e.g. links to the factsheets of DAISIS, NOBANIS, CABI.

the EPPO exercise can be found here

Article PM5/6(1) EPPO Prioritization process for invasive alien plants

I agree with most of the suggestions you already received. Yet, finding the worst species is not an easy task, and your choice will be finally subjective. As an additional info source you could also have a look at the EPPO site with list of invasive species for the EPPO Region (http://www.eppo.int/INVASIVE_PLANTS/ias_lists.htm). If you already have a list you could try to establish priorities using ranking methods, prioritisation (EPPO), WRA etc. etc.

Thank you again for all the information! The species I have in mind for my experiment besides Ambrosia are Solidago gigantea, Impatiens glandulifera and Senecio inaequidens. I agree that finding the most important alien invasive species will depend on the country and on the impact of the species invasion. Therefore, I was thinking on focusing on species that could be found in roadsides in Germany. However, I think I would not dare to use Heracleum mantegazzianum because of the risk of dermatitis, but Ambrosia won't be a problem because I won't let it flower.

In Poland the most important in the forests and the rocky habitats is Impatiens parviflora (very common), and Reynoutria sachalinensis, R. japonica and Impatiens glandulifera in the riparian forest and on river banks. Reynoutria species are the most serious threat for some of the Natura 2000 habitat types in Poland (as 6430, 91E0 and 91F0). Seminatural habitats are under the strong pressure of Heracleum mantegazzianum, H. sosnkowski and Solidago sp. Also the trees neophyte species, as Robinia pseudoacacia, Padus serotina and Quercus rubra are highly invasive.

I have observed a serious pressure of Nicotiana glauca and Erigeron karvinskianus on many types of Mediterranean habitats, but I am not fully skilled in this subject.

For me the most xenophyte noxius is the greatest transformation that originates in the ecosystem. In Huelva (Western Andalusia, Spain), for example we have some striking species in the wild: Oxalis pes-caprae (terrestrial) and Azolla filiculoides (inland waterways -freshwater-). Each country will have specific invader xenophytes. The examples given are within the Mediterranean climate. It is difficult to assess the impact of weed in our ecosystems. Only during the monitoring and follow a prudent -in time-, ensure correct evaluation

Try the terophytes Asteraceae Conyza bonariensis, Conyza canadensis, or Conyza sumatrensis, or similar group, frequent in road-sides. Not if they will be present in your work area? In Mediterranean climate are prevalent these roads means, where they form a continuum with its landscape

Hi!

I think there are some nice suggestions regarding the situation in (central) Europe above. Of course concerning 'most important/noxious' there are regional differences, but I think focusing on roadsides and annual vascular plants (and therefore the design of your experiment) will strongly depend on the type of roadside habitat (their ecological site conditions – moist/dry, etc.). Although ten years old, you could also have a look at this publication showing the situation in Austria (back then): http://www.umweltbundesamt.at/fileadmin/site/publikationen/DP089.pdf; Furthermore: are you aware of the various publications by Franz Essl (Federal Environment Agency, Austria) and his colleagues in this context?

Hi Chistian,

Thank you for the information, I'm not aware of the work of Franz Essl but I'll check it in the coming days. Since this experiment is a fairly new part of my Project I'm planning and learning at the same time. However, all these suggestions were very helpful to have a big picture of the available information.

Hi Florencia,

In addition to the other answers, I copy-paste a link to a local evaluation of alien plant species in the Basque Country. It is quite extensive and includes an assessment of the most noxius aggresive ones. It is in Basque and Spanish, I hope you can scan the text and get most of the info.

Good luck,

Jabi

http://www.ihobe.net/Publicaciones/ficha.aspx?IdMenu=750e07f4-11a4-40da-840c-0590b91bc032&Cod=5fd95088-0390-49f3-833e-24a5de439e2c&Tipo=

Dear Florencia,

There is an European report very interesting. Check it here http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/online-information-systems-with-alien-species-occurrence-records-in-europe-pbLBNA24752/?CatalogCategoryID=vAYKABstMP0AAAEjJZEY4e5L

Dear Florencia,

maybe you will find this paper helpful:

LAMBDON P. W., PYŠEK P., BASNOU C., HEJDA M., ARIANOUTSOU M., ESSL F., JAROŠÍK V., PERGL J., WINTER M., ANASTASIU P., ANDRIOPOULOS P., BAZOS I., BRUNDU G., CELESTI-GRAPOW L., CHASSOT P., DELIPETROU P., JOSEFSSON M., KARK S., KLOTZ S., KOKKORIS Y., KÜHN I., MARCHANTE H., PERGLOVÁ I., PINO J., VILÀ M., ZIKOS A., ROY D., HULME P.E. 2008. Alien flora of Europe: species diversity, temporal trends, geographical patterns and research needs. – Preslia 80:101–149.

Kamila

Baležentienė L. Inhibitory effect of invasive Heracleum sosnowskyi on rapeseed and ryegrass germination. Allelopathy J. , 2012, 30(2), 197-208.

Hi,

You can see also:

Pyšek P., Chytrý M., Pergl J., Sádlo J. &Wild J. (2012): Plant invasions in the Czech Republic: current state, introduction dynamics, invasive species and invaded habitats. – Preslia 84: 575–629.

This article is available on the internet.

Anna

I advise you to subscribe to AllelopathyJournal, which publishes mant Mss onInvisive plant spp in different countries.Visit the website allelopathyjournal.org

Not sure if you should be "planting" this about in your trial but it is a serious weed in Europe.

Heracleum mantegazzianum Sommier & Levier

Lots of articles on this species.

r

In terms of damage to natural ecosystems then Eucalyptus and Sitka spruce are easily the worst. They have destroyed far more habitats than Heracleum mantegazzianum will ever do. Of course no one ever considers these species, because we planted them.

Hello. In Poland, we face an issue with the increasing populations of some Solidago species as well as Impatiens ones.

Hello. In Lithuania among the worst are Heracleum sosnowskyi and Lupinus polyphyllus.

Ailanthus altissima è sicuramente tra le peggiori in Europa Maria Lucia Leporatti

Thank you all for your kind comments and suggestions! I justa have a last thing to ask: anyone have seeds of Fallopia japonica? I can't find in my area any places where I could collect them. I could offer seeds of Solidago gigantea, if interested.

Thank you in advance

see PM!

Perennial species in Portugal seem to cause more problems than annual species. One of the major problems is Arundo donax (giant reed) in disturbed habitats, including riparian zones and wetlands, and Acacia sp. (various species), Ailanthus altissima, Robinia, Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass), amongst others. Concerning freshwaters, the Iberian Peninsula deals with huge invasions by Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth), blooms of the fern Azolla sp., and also Myriophyllum aquaticum (parrot feather) in rivers, streams, lakes. Some weeds are widespread in agricultural areas, but also in unmanaged lands, like Oxalis pes-caprae, Conyza sp., Paspalum paspalodes, Erygeron karvinskiannus.

We have huge but local invasions of a riparian umbelliferae that is very difficult to control - Eryngium pandanifolium.

One thought: be careful with sharing seeds of invasive species; involuntary introductions have been one of the major causes of invasions.

Also, in Portugal for instance is forbiden by legislation to transport, plant, spread or sell Eichhornia crassipes. It is worthwhile to know what happens in other countries.

In Huelva (Andalusia W, Spain) we have the entry of a new American neophyte who can be interesting, provided that it is entering the road sides of the neighboring region of Estremadura: Epilobium brachycarpun. For his ecology (annual plant, etc .....) it can be interesting for experimentation and follow-up

Dear Florence,

is very difficult to generalize for all of Europe. Even in each country, depending on the habitat, substrate and climate, we will have some other invasive species.

Regards

José

You can observe that some exotics like Robinia pseudoacacia, Eucalyptus species were introduced cultural and seminatural sites (like road sides, city parks and some afforestation areas) in Turkey. People still belive that a miracle species will save the earth. Thus ten years ago there was a fashion that planting everywhere Paulownia seedlings. But this trend was off now.

there are 3 international highways crossing LT territory from NE to W, which compose seriuos invasive corridors, especially for spread H. sosnovskyi and S. canadensis.

I agree with José Blanco that is not possible to generalize for all Europe from country data. There are several reasons: Differences in substrate, climate (as suggested by J. Blanco) but also social and economic reasons. An introduced species could be seen as a noxious invader by some people, but as a source of economic resources for others. This could also be extensive for countries. In addition, there could also be a biogeographical inconvenient for a generalized list. A species native from one European country could result a noxious invader in other European Country. Therefore, it seems that each institution should perform a particular list for its own geographical range.

I'm sorry if I didn't make myself clear enough, I did not mean to ask for species that were invasives in all Europe but species that were considered invasives in more than one country. Of course there are a lot of variables involved in what we consider invasive and so on, but there are some species that are broadly accepted as invasives and have also a broad distribution in Europe. That's why I have chosen Ambrosia artemisiifolia for this experiment. Thank you again for your kind comments and suggestions.

Howdy there,

If you would like to get the list of invasive species in Belgium, go to:

http://www.alterias.be/en/list-of-invasive-and-alternative-plants/invasive-plants

The site also suggests measures which could be taken to reduce the number of invasives.

Cheers,

Frank

Hi.

Regarding to the Canary Islands there is a general paper on the exotic and invasive plants present in the archipelago, which I attach (it's at free disposal in Internet).

Another interesting reference, though written in Dutch, with a large amount of photographs (of which I made some) is the following:

Authors: F. Billiet, M. de Cleene

Language Dutch

ISBN10 9010046575

ISBN13 9789010046574

You can find this book in:

Category: Elsevier Dutch written books

Location: Europe

Keywords: Europe , Noxious Plants

External Review:

Concise and clearly arranged descriptions of plants make it possible to quickly locate a suspect plant and to be fully informed Fortunately, this book lacks the folkloric character of many similar works, but instead contains all the information on poisoning and how to act. Treatment is suggested as well, but always consult a doctor! This book also includes a list of European centers where information can be obtained about poisonings by plants. In the book an unknown plant can be determined and its noxious properties identified. The plant descriptions are in a first instance based on the scientific names used. The scientific approach makes this book less accessible to a wide readership.

(NBD|Biblion recensie, Ir. C.P.A. van de Wouw).

Cheers,

Frank