Symposium Invasive Plants

Giant hogweed - Heracleum Mantegazzianum

Kudzu - Pueraria lobata

Japanese knotweed -Reynoutria japonica

110 scientists and practitioners from all over the world meet from October 3 to 7, 2011 in Ascona, Switzerland for a symposium on exotic and invasive plants. This series of meetings, which began 2006 on the Azores brings together biologists, weed scientists and agronomists. They share challenges facing up to human society by globalization, climate change and the resulting intensification of plant distribution.

The symposium is after the Azores (2006) and Croatia (2008) again organized at a locality where the problematic of invasive plants is everywhere visible. With its climate at the southern side of the Alps and with its role as international transit region for people and goods, the Ticino is he Swiss region with highest abundance of invasive neophytes. Therefore this region illustrates somehow the development of flora under climate change and how it could develop north of the Alps

While previous meeting were limited either on biological sciences or environmental ecology, this time weed scientists and practical advisors come across. Markus Hochstrasser from the cantonal plant protection service for instance will give a talk on control of invasive plants using synergies in Swiss agricultural practice. Participants discuss also the question on impacts to and answers from the human society versus plant invasions. “The perception an management of invasive plants : Between environment and social changes” is the title of invited Caecilia Claeys, sociologist at the university of Marseille.

Are invasive plants dangerous to us ?

A black list is known in Switzerland containing those invasive neophytes which are already spreading in Switzerland. Plant at the beginning of their invasion to the country are listed on a so called watchlist. These plants are specified as invasive, because they are able to suppress the native flora and they can cause economic damages or danger to human health. Japanese Knotweed for instance can destabilize slopes of railway tracks or roads, or Common Ragweed causes respiratory allergies and asthma. On the other hand our today’s biodiversity is based on the endemic flora and the reclaiming of land and the exchange of crops and ornamental plants of all continents. With today‘s traffic speed native flora is completely overrun by exotic species. This is why the human society is asked on how we will handle this development. The symposium offers a prospective contribution to this in future important discussion.

• Program
• EWRS Weeds and Invasive Plants
  

Contacts

• Marco Conedera, marco.conedera@wsl.ch, 091 821 5231
  Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL
  
• Christian Bohren ACW, christian.bohren@acw.admin.ch
  Forschungsanstalt Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil ACW
  
• Marta Rossinelli, marta.rossinelli@ti.ch, 091 814 35 57
  Servizio fitosanitario del Cantone Ticino
  
• Nicola Schoenenberger, nicola.schoenenberger@ti.ch, 079 280 22 52
  Museo cantonale di storia naturale, Lugano