{"id":882,"date":"2018-04-12T14:04:32","date_gmt":"2018-04-12T12:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/?p=882"},"modified":"2018-05-03T15:11:16","modified_gmt":"2018-05-03T13:11:16","slug":"norways-new-invaders-garden-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/2018\/04\/12\/norways-new-invaders-garden-plants\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Norway’s New Invaders: Garden Plants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Garden plants have a long tradition in Norway; from <\/span>being used as<\/span> medicin<\/span>e<\/span> and food in <\/span>the<\/span> gardens of Catholic monasteries <\/span>in the Middle Ages<\/span> to today\u2019s exotic ornamental plants. <\/span>But this tradition also<\/span> represents several centuries of un<\/span>monitored<\/span> introductions<\/span> of <\/span>alien species<\/span>, and it has left its mark in Norwegian nature. <\/span><\/h3>\n

20,000 Tons of Perennials<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Over half of the plant species that exist in Norway today have been transported here by humans. Every year, 20,000 tons of perennials, shrubs and trees are imported to Norway. Not all introduced garden plants pose a threat to Norwegian nature and indigenous species, but we have seen examples of species <\/span>becoming invasive (like the <\/span>G<\/span>arden <\/span>L<\/span>upin), and we know of several species that may become invasive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The
The Japanese Knotweed, one of Norway’s most notorious invaders (Photo credit: Pixabay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diversity at Risk<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Invasive species threaten biodiversity by invading new areas and changing the habitat and species composition. In cases where the spread proceeds undisturbed, these invasive species can completely outcompete the local indigenous species, reduce diversity and establish monocultures. Such drastic changes also affect insects, animals and birds in addition to the flora. Of all the alien plant species spreading in Norwegian nature, 40% of them originally escaped from gardens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Illegal Plant Species<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most effective measure against alien invasive species have proven to be simply prevent<\/span>ing<\/span> introduction and <\/span>the<\/span> subsequent spread into nature. For this reason, a ban to import, sell and distribute\/relocate\/move 17 different plant species that are considered to have a severe negative effect on Norwegian nature was introduced in 2016. Overview of the illegal species can be found <\/span>here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gardeners, Watch Out<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a<\/span> garden owner, it means you can not p<\/span>lant<\/span> these 17 <\/span>species<\/span> in your garden. <\/span>While it\u2019<\/span>s not illegal to have one of the species in your garden if it ha<\/span>d<\/span> already been established <\/span>there<\/span> before 2016, you have <\/span>to take<\/span> responsibility to prevent <\/span>the plant <\/span>spreading out<\/span>side<\/span> your<\/span> garden. In such cases, flowers must be removed before the seeds <\/span>mature<\/span> (berries and rose hips must also be remove<\/span>d<\/span>) and physical barriers must be established for sprouting species. <\/span><\/p>\n

Prevent Spreading<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many people dump garden <\/span>w<\/span>ast<\/span>e<\/span> o<\/span>n roadsides, forest edges or outside their garden fence and believe that it will rot and disappear by itself. <\/span>T<\/span>his is <\/span>NOT<\/span> the case and it is actually illegal! A small piece of a root, plant part or a single seed is enough <\/span>for <\/span>one of your garden plants to set root outside of the fence and damage Norwegian <\/span>ecosystems<\/span>. A h<\/span>ot compost is a good option that ensures plant propagules are killed. <\/span>Yet<\/span> it is <\/span>still<\/span> not completely safe for preventing spreading of alien invasive plant species. Some species like Japanese knotweed can survive even in hot compost, and <\/span>there<\/span> is also a chance that seeds will survive if the plants in the compost carry fruits or seeds. The safest option is always <\/span>burning<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Don’t dump garden wast in nature or along road sides. Only a small plant fragment can be enough to make the plant to establish and spread. \u00a0Here we see the invading and illegal species Lysimachia punctata<\/em> popping up from a garden waste deposit site.\u00a0Foto: Anders L. Kolstad, NTNU Vitenskapsmuseet, CC BY-SA 4.0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Plant Pathogens<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

It is not just this spreading of alien plant species that is accelerated by dumping garden waste in nature. Garden plants, including those that are not a threat to nature, can carry different types of bacteria, fungi, insects and viruses, which can spread throughout Norwegian nature by the dumping of garden <\/span>w<\/span>ast<\/span>e<\/span>. You may have heard about the fungus-like plant pathogen called <\/span>Phytophthora ramorum<\/a><\/i>, which<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>ca<\/span>me <\/span>to Europe<\/span> as a blind passenger on rhododendron shrubs from Asia. In Asia, the shrubs have resistance to the pathogen, while Norwegian trees and shrubs lack resistance and will quickly die from the attack. In England, this pathogen ha<\/span>s<\/span> created huge problem<\/span>s<\/span> for blueberry and leek forests. In Norway, the pathogen ha<\/span>s<\/span> already been discovered in Rogaland, and it is feared that it will create an even bigger problem than both the Spanish slug and <\/span>L<\/span>upin.<\/span><\/p>\n

What can I do?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are good alternatives to the dangerous, exotic garden plants. Use substitute species that cannot settle outside the garden fence, or Norwegian native plants that are good for the local fauna. Examples of replacement species can be found <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and <\/span>here<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0By using indigenous\/native\/local species you don’t need to worry about plant diseases <\/span>to<\/span> such an ext<\/span>e<\/span>nt, but you have to take care not to pick vulnerable or endangered species in the wild!<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about invasive garden plants, we invite you to read the following study (text p\u00e5 Norsk).\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Garden Escapees<\/a> – From Ornamentals to the Black List from the Oslo and Akershus County<\/p>\n

English version by Sam Perrin<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Garden plants have a long tradition in Norway; from being used as medicine and food in the gardens of Catholic monasteries in the Middle Ages to today\u2019s exotic ornamental plants. But this tradition also represents several centuries of unmonitored introductions of alien species, and it has left its mark in Norwegian nature. 20,000 Tons of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,79],"tags":[90,109,94,113,114,112,115],"class_list":["post-882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays-and-interviews","category-knowledge-and-skills","tag-conservation","tag-garden","tag-invasive","tag-ornamentals","tag-pathogens","tag-plants","tag-spreading","byline-malene-nygard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":971,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions\/971"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogg.vm.ntnu.no\/naturviten\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}