The Invasive Alien Species in Europe app enables the general public (amateurs and professionals) to receive and share information about Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in Europe. It provides details about 66 different IAS that are considered to be of interest to the complete European Union. Users can record pictures of possible Invasive Alien Species together with complementary information about their observation.

Official page of the app: https://digitalearthlab.jrc.ec.europa.eu/app/invasive-alien-species-europe

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On 5 September 2019, Mars Di Bartolomeo, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, addressed a parliamentary question to the Minister of the Environment regarding the European list of invasive alien species.

Question 1

Which species on this list have been recorded in Luxembourg?

Response from Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development:

Plants (5 species):

1. Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
2. Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)
3. Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
4. Nuttall’s waterweed (Elodea nuttallii)
5. Parrot’s feather (Myriophylum aquaticum)

Animals (9 species):

1. Spiny-cheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus)
2. Signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus)
3. Topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva)
4. Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus)
5. Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus)
6. Coypu (Myocastor coypus)
7. Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus)
8. Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
9. Red eared slider (Trachemys scripta).

Question 2

Given that these species pose a threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services, what is his Ministry’s strategy for more effective eradication, management and control methods to combat the adverse effects associated with this phenomenon?

Response from Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development:

In accordance with European regulations, Luxembourg’s strategy to counter the environmental and social problems caused by invasive alien species has four main components, namely

1. prevention,
2. early detection and rapid eradication,
3. management,
4. awareness and training.

There are two scenarios:

1. the establishment of emerging species and any new invasive alien species detected on national territory is prevented;
2. populations of widely distributed species are controlled, in order to reduce their environmental and social impacts and avoid further spread.

For widespread species, “Invasive Alien Species Action Plans” have been developed, which include the actions to be implemented for each species. All actions thus defined shall be based on the best scientific knowledge and shall take due account of cost-effectiveness, human health, the environment and animal welfare.

A public consultation will be launched shortly for each action plan.

Original documents

– parliamentary question n°1160 of 5 September 2019
– parliamentary question n°1160 – reply of 7 October 2019

Solanum rostratum Dunal was first observed in the wild in Luxembourg on 21 August 2019 by Jörg Zoldan and Annette Steinbach-Zoldan on the border of a maize field in the municipality of Kayl (Southern part of Luxembourg), during a field study on behalf of SICONA.

Description

Solanum rostratum Dunal (spiny or prickly nightshade, Mexican thistle) is a species of nightshade that is native to the US and northern and central Mexico. It is an annual, self-compatible herb that forms a tumbleweed and has abundant spines on the stems and leaves. In its native range S. rostratum is pollinated by medium- to large-sized bees including bumblebees. The seeds are released when the berries dry and dehisce (split apart) while still attached to the plant (Wikipedia contributors 2019).

This species represents one of the later scientific interests of famed biologist Charles Darwin, who just over a week prior to his death had ordered seeds from a colleague in America, so as to investigate their heteranthery, a topic he was interested in (Wikipedia contributors 2019).

Solanum rostratum is the ancestral host plant of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, but this pest adopted the potato, Solanum tuberosum as a new (and more succulent) host, a fact first reported in eastern Nebraska in 1859. It then expanded its range rapidly eastward on potato crops in the next two decades (Wikipedia contributors 2019).

Solanum rostratum as an invasive alien weed

Solanum rostratum is a taprooted annual plant known to be a noxious weed in parts of the USA and Canada, and is included in the Global Compendium of Weeds as an ‘agricultural weed’, ‘casual alien’, ‘environmental weed’, ‘naturalised’, ‘noxious weed’, and ‘weed’ across tropical and temperate regions of the world. It is a fast-growing, vigorous weed native to Mexico and the United States and now widely introduced including into Asia, Oceania and Europe (Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Russia, Slovakia, UK, Ukraine). The species invades ecosystems by forming dense colonies, and a single plant can produce hundreds of seeds which are dispersed by both biotic and abiotic vectors, as well as self-propelled by its dehiscent fruit (Datiles & Acevedo-Rodríguez 2014).

Bibliography

• Datiles M. J. & P. Acevedo-Rodríguez, 2014. Solanum rostratum. In: Invasive Species Compendium. Wallingford, UK: CAB International. URL: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/50544#tosummaryOfInvasiveness [accessed 2019-10-13]
• Wikipedia contributors, 2019. Solanum rostratum in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 September 2019, 21:54 UTC, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solanum_rostratum&oldid=918482134 [accessed 2019-10-13]