We keep you informed about Invasive Alien Species in Luxembourg
In early spring 2020 the Department for the Environment of the Luxembourg Ministry for environment, climate and sustainable development edited leaflets in German and French about Fallopia japonica and Impatiens glandulifera, in co-operation with the National Museum of Natural History and efor-ersa ingénieurs-conseils. They can be downloaded here in PDF format (~ 4 MB each).
More information on → Japanese knotweed and → Himalayan balsam in Luxembourg.
Page content last updated on 2020-04-06.
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
App Download:
Page content last updated on 2020-02-27.
The next NEOBIOTA conference will take place in Vodice (Croatia) on September 15-18, 2020 and is organised by Sven Jelaska, professor at the Department of Biology, University of Zagreb.
NEOBIOTA 2020
11th International Conference on Biological Invasions
The Human Role in Biological Invasions: a case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?
All important information concerning dates, registration, booking, fees, etc. are now available at the NEOBIOTA 2020 website. The abstract submission process will start by the end of February and last until March 31st, 2020.
Page content last updated on 2020-03-05. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2020-03-05.
Press release on 17/12/2019 by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development (MECDD)
Source: https://environnement.public.lu/fr/natur/biodiversite/lutte_contre_les_eee/reglement_ue_1143-2014/gestion.html
As provided for by Article 4 of the Law of 2 July 2018 (Mémorial 2018) on certain implementing rules and sanctions of Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014, the draft action plans for invasive alien species (IAS AP) are made available to the public on the website of the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development.
Currently a public consultation on the action plans for 11 species is underway. All comments on these draft action plans should be sent by e-mail to or by post to the Administration de la nature et des forêts (81, avenue de la Gare, L-9233 Diekirch). The deadline for sending your comments and suggestions is 13 February 2020.
Page content last updated on 2020-01-24.
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.
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):
Animals (9 species):
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
There are two scenarios:
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.
– parliamentary question n°1160 of 5 September 2019
– parliamentary question n°1160 – reply of 7 October 2019
Page content last updated on 2019-12-19. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2019-12-19.
The Slovenian Forestry Institute has published a Field Guide to Invasive Alien Species in European Forests which was translated to English and made available as PDF file.
This guide was first prepared in Slovenian, within the framework of the project Awareness Raising, Training and Measures on Invasive alien Species in forests (LIFE ARTEMIS), which is funded by the European Commission in the framework of the LIFE financial mechanism, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia, the City of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Research Agency.
Kus Veenvliet, J., P. Veenvliet, M. de Groot & L. Kutnar (eds.). 2019. A Field Guide to Invasive Alien Species in European Forests. Nova vas: Institute Symbioisis, so. e.; Ljubljana: The Silva Slovenica Publishing Centre, Slovenian Forestry Institute. [PDF 32 MB]
Page content last updated on 2019-12-12. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2019-12-12.
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.
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 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).
Page content last updated on 2019-11-11. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2019-11-11.
The Luxembourg Nature and Forestry Administration has published a guide on the identification and management of invasive alien plant species on construction sites. The 88-page guide is written in French and can be useful to other concerned parties such as biological stations, municipalities and other state administrations that are active in other activities such as nature sites, the development and maintenance of green spaces and along roads.
The guide can be ordered or downloaded from the following web page: https://environnement.public.lu/fr/publications/conserv_nature/plantes_exotiques_envahissantes.html
Citation: Pfeiffenschneider M. et al., 2019. Guide d’identification et de gestion d’espèces de plantes exotiques envahissantes sur les chantiers. 88 pp. Administration de la nature et des forêts (éd.).
Page content last updated on 2019-11-11. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2019-11-11.
Page content last updated on 2019-05-20.
On November 15th 2018 Jos A. Massard and Gaby Geimer discovered a female of the wandering cribellate spider Zoropsis spinimana on the window of a pastry shop in Echternach (Massard & Geimer 2018). This spider is a new species for Luxembourg and is currently spreading throughout Europe. The detailed up-to-date distribution of the species can be found on the Luxembourgian Wikipedia (Wikipedia-Bearbeiter 2018).
The home of Zoropsis spinimana is the western Mediterranean region up to the southern edge of the Alps and Dalmatia, as well as North Africa, where it occurs in the open in light forests, under stones and bark, or in and around buildings (Wikipedia contributors 2018).
Page content last updated on 2019-11-11. Last proofread by Caroline Grounds on 2019-11-11.
