LivingEarth

  • About
    Who we are Our Projects News, Events, Research, Case Studies Publications Contact Us
  • Tools
    Overview Interactive map Get the data Analyze the data Earthtrack.app
  • Resources
    Knowledge Hub Developer Hub
  • Data
    Earth Observation Big Data and Data Cubes Enviromental Descriptors Taxonomies Living Earth Products
  • Countries
    Wales Australia
  • Themes
    About themes Land cover and habitats Water Change Impacts and Pressures Biodiversity Accounts Future Earth
Invasive Species
  • Home
  • Themes
Biodiversity

Invasive Species

Although there are almost 2,000 established non-native species in Great Britain, only a small number of these are considered to be threateningly invasive

These include several species of plant, namely: American skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus), broad-leaved bamboo (Sasa palmata), giant rhubarb (Gunnera tinctoria), Cotoneasters (Cotoneaster spp), Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), hottentot fig (Carpobrotus edulis), Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), pirri-pirri bur (Acaena novae-zelandiae), rhododendron (Rhododendron x superponticum), Spanish bluebell and hybrid (Hyacinthoides hispanica and H. hispanica x H. non-scripta) and variegated yellow archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon subsp. argentatum).

Of these, rhododendron, Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam are recognised as problem species in Wales, while water fern Azolla filiculoides and New Zealand pygmyweed Crassula helmsii can also be problematic.

The total annual cost of invasive non-native species to the British economy is estimated at £1.7 billion, so the potential for economical benefits is considerable, particularly in being able to predict the spread of these species. Remote technologies have a role to play in mapping the distribution of all of these problematic species.

One aim of the Living Wales programme is to detect changes in the extent and distribution of the threateningly invasive species in Wales. We are interested in information not only on locations dominated by invasive species, but also on the locations that invasive species are starting to colonise.

LivingEarth

sites

  • About Us
  • News
  • Jobs
  • Process
  • Past and Present
  • Future Lanscapes

Countries

  • Wales
  • Australia

Tools

  • Interactive Map
  • Get the data
  • Analyse the data
  • EARTHTRACK App Verification

Earthtrack App

© 2023 livingearth