“Plant invasion in Italy, an overview”: a new publication
The booklet “Plant invasion in Italy, an overview” was published in April 2009 and presents the outcome of a project on the inventory of the non native flora of Italy. This project aimed to use a standardized system to gather information on the non-native vascular flora growing spontaneously in Italy and to identify, among the high number of plant species present, the few that may, owing to their invasiveness or negative potential impact, pose a threat to the environment, human health or the economy. The booklet was presented during the Environmental G8 held in Syracusa (IT) on 2009-04-22/24, as it is targeted to a broad audience. The main results of the project are summarized in this booklet which provides information on:
- the history of plant introductions in Italy,
- the species distribution across the country,
- the main characteristics of invasive plants in Italy (i.e.: the majority of them originate from North America, the most invasive ones are perennials, and the most invaded region is Lombardia),
- the 10 most problematic IAP in Italy which are: Ailanthus altissima, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Amorpha fruticosa, Carpobrotus spp., Fallopia japonica, Heracleum mantegazzianum, Impatiens glandulifera, Ludwigia peploides subsp. montevidensis, Prunus serotina and Robinia pseudoacacia.
Copies of the booklet can be obtained upon request from Laura Celesti Grapow (laura.celesti@uniroma1.it) or Giuseppe Brundu (gbrundu@tin.it)
Sources
Celesti-Grapow L, Pretto F, Brundu G, Carli E ; Blasi C (edit.) (2009) A thematic contribution to the National Biodiversity Strategy. Plant invasion in Italy, an overview. Ministry for the Environment Land and Sea Protection, Nature Protection Directorate, Roma: 1-32 + CD-ROM.
INTERNET (last accessed in 2009-07)
Environment G8 in Syracusa (IT), 2009-04-22/24. http://www.g8ambiente.it/