Invasive alien plants along roadsides in Europe
Roadsides can play an important role in the spread of invasive alien plants by providing corridors which support establishment and spread throughout regions. The turbulence of passing vehicles can act to facilitate the dispersal of propagules and the maintenance and construction along roadsides can spread rhizome material of species such as Fallopia japonica. Through expert consultation and literature reviews the occurrence of invasive alien plants was evaluated in seven European countries Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, and Sweden. Almost 500 invasive alien plant species were assessed for their occurrence along roadsides in the selected countries and 89 species were identified as occurring in this habitat. The highest number of invasive alien plants were identified for Norway (45), followed by Slovenia (29) and Sweden (24), and the lowest number for Ireland (12). Thirteen species (see table 1) were identified to occur in four or more of the seven countries and of these three species were Fallopia species. In addition, three shrub and tree species were among the most commonly found species along roadsides (Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia and Rosa rugosa). Broussonetia papyrifera (Moraceae) is a tree species which is also reported as present along roadsides in Slovenia. The species is native to Asia and has been listed on the EPPO Alert List since 2016. The authors of the present study highlight that further research is required to increase our knowledge on control methods for invasive alien plants along roadsides in order to prevent further spread.
Table 1. The 13 species most commonly found along roadsides during the study.
Species | EPPO / EU List | Family | Origin | Country | |
Ailanthus altissima | EPPO List IAP | Simaroubaceae | Asia | AT, DE, NL, SI | |
Ambrosia artemisiifolia | EPPO List IAP | Asteraceae | N- America | AT, DE, NL, SI | |
Epilobium ciliatum | Onagraceae | N-America | NL, NO, SE, SI | ||
Fallopia japonica | EPPO List IAP | Polygonaceae | Asia | AT, DE, NL, IE, NO, SE, SI | |
Fallopia sachalinensis | EPPO List IAP | Polygonaceae | Asia | AT, DE, NL, IE, NO, SI | |
Fallopia x bohemica | EPPO List IAP | Polygonaceae | Hybrid | AT, DE, NL, IE, NO, SI | |
Heracleum mantegazzianum | EPPO List IAP/ EU List | Apiaceae | Caucasus | AT, DE, NL, IE, NO, SE | |
Impatiens glandulifera | EPPO List IAP/ EU List | Balsaminaceae | India | AT, DE, NL, IE, NO, SE, SI | |
Lupinus polyphyllus | EPPO Observation List | Fabaceae | N-America | DE, NO, SE, SI | |
Rosa rugosa | Rosaceae | E-Asia | DE, NL, NO, SE | ||
Senecio inaequidens | EPPO List IAP | Asteraceae | S-Africa | AT, DE, NL, NO, SE, SI | |
Solidago canadensis | EPPO List IAP | Asteraceae | N-America | AT, DE, NL, NO, SE, SI | |
Solidago gigantea | EPPO List IAP | Asteraceae | N-America | AT, DE, NL, NO, SE, SI | |
EPPO List IAP: EPPO List of Invasive Alien Plants.
EU List: list of invasive alien species of Union concern.
Sources
Follak S, Eberius M, Essl F, Furdős A, Sedlacek N, Trognitz F (2018) Invasive alien plants along roadsides in Europe. EPPO Bulletin 48(early view). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/epp.12465