Spiraea tomentosa: current and future distribution
Spiraea tomentosa (Rosaceae) is native to North America and has been utilized as an ornamental species in the EPPO region since the 18th century. In the EPPO region, the species is invasive in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. The species can have negative impacts on native plant communities, especially wetland habitats. However, to-date little is known about its biology, ecology, and potential distribution in Europe. Currently, the species shows a distribution in Europe which is somewhat random (i.e. not correlated with climatic suitability but rather due to the areas where the species has been planted). The current study modelled the current and future distribution of S. tomentosa in Europe using occurrence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and supplemented with data from the literature. The model was performed using MaxEnt with bioclimatic variables. The results showed that the current distribution of S. tomentosa is significantly narrower than the potential distribution of suitable climate niches – indicating that future range expansion can be expected, and this will potentially be exacerbated by climate change. Management strategies should prevent further invasions of the species in areas where it may establish and cause negative impacts.
Sources
Wiatrowska B, Pietras M, Kolanowska M, Danielewicz W (2020) Current occurrence and potential future climate niche distribution of the invasive shrub Spiraea tomentosa L. in its native and non-native ranges. Global Ecology and Conservation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01226