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Conservationists believe that invasive alien plant species
are second only to habitat destruction as a cause of species
extinction and environmental decline! They are an increasingly
significant impact on bio-diversity around the world. The
flora of the U.K faces a challenge from these non-native plants
on every side.
These are plants that have been relatively recently introduced
into an area where their natural predators, competitors and
diseases may be absent and there is little to control their
growth. Their arrival can cause economic and/or environmental
damage and they are sometimes harmful to human health. They
can compete with native plants for nutrients, light and space
and therefore alter the natural vegetation of a habitat. Not
all newly arrived species become invasive, in fact it is only
a small percentage, but these few cause severe problems.
Economic consequences of invasive plants can be phenomenal.
They can change water supplies and spoil crops amongst many
other things and this can amount to millions of pounds worth
of damage. In the U.S.A the cost is $123 billion dollars each
year (U.S Department of the Interior 1999). Predicting which
species will become invasive is a priority in the battle to
conserve our environment.
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