EU blacklist to stop spread of alien species

[dipsydoodle]

Last edited Wed Apr 16, 2014, 06:43 AM - Edit history (1)

The European Parliament is voting on a bill to draw up a blacklist to fight invasive alien species such as killer shrimp and Japanese knotweed spreading.

There will be a ban on the possession, transport, selling or growing of species deemed as of "Union Concern".

>

A deal between EU member states effectively means the bill will pass and become law within a few months.

>

The economic and ecological damage caused by non-native species such as the so-called killer shrimp and demon shrimp originally from the Black Sea, the Asian Harlequin ladybird or Japanese knotweed are estimated to cost Europe some 12bn euros every year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27039714

MPs warn of invasion by non-native plant and animal species.

The government must introduce new legal powers to tackle plant and animal species that are invading Britain at a rate never seen before, a committee of MPs has warned.

Species such as Japanese knotweed, the North American signal crayfish, killer shrimp and zebra mussels not only have an impact on biodiversity by supplanting native species, but affect human health and the economy, according to a report from the environmental audit committee.

In 2012, 1,875 non-native species were counted in Great Britain – a figure increasing by 10 species a year – 282 of which had become invasive. The report, Invasive Non-native Species, says England and Wales need better prevention, surveillance, monitoring and eradication measures, and new powers to kill off invasive species before they become established. Existing laws prohibit the release of non-native animals and plants into the wild, but have never been used to prosecute anyone and is unlikely to provide the level of protection needed, the MPs warned.

The chair of the committee, Joan Walley MP, said: "The growth of international trade and travel means more non-native plants and animals are being introduced into Britain than ever before and as our climate changes more species are likely to find a foothold here. Not all of these species will become invasive, but the ones that do can harm native wildlife, clog up our waterways, cause costly problems for homeowners and sometimes even harm human health.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/16/mps-warn-invasion-non-native-plant-animal-species

[Demeter]

1. The fruits of mindless globalism

THIS is one of the neglects of the New World Order. by trying to tear down all boundaries to greedy commerce, it is destroying whatever makes a local community unique.

Globalism disrespects the people, the environment, the human race, all in a quest for endlessly increasing profit. It breaks the circle of natural recycling and reset. It breaks the local culture. It would destroy the works of millennia of Man for a convenient landfill to hide the evidence of its wasteful destruction.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Japanese knotweed goes back to Victorian times.

It was an accident waiting to happen. They liked the pretty pink flowers and the stems can be used to make a fruit crumble.

The roots are an absolute bastard and can destroy a house completely. If knot weed is found in a garden the house becomes mortgage proof.

See :

It is an offence under section 14(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to "plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild" any plant listed in Schedule nine, Part II to the Act, which includes Japanese knotweed. It is also classed as "controlled waste" in Britain under part 2 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This requires disposal at licensed landfill sites. The species is expensive to remove; Defra's Review of Non-native Species Policy states that a national eradication programme would be prohibitively expensive at £1.56 billion.[7]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallopia_japonica

Where I go fishing we burn it on the spot - we don't even move it elsewhere around the lakes for burning.

One of the local disused reservoirs , now used for fishing and sailing only , is infested with crayfish. The water bailiffs trap them using orange boxes and sell them to local restaurants.

[Demeter]

3. The Victorians were the the last Empire before the US-led Banksters Empire

Each mistake builds upon the previous...

It would be so nice, if the human race instead built upon successes, instead of mistakes (as science does).

[happyslug]

4. Burning or cutting Knotweed had no affect on it

Worse, poison (And that means a root poison like Roundup) is only effective if sprayed on Knotweed AFTER it has flowered (About the middle of July to August 1) till the first frost. I have sprayed Knotweed groups right next to each other, as one is flowering and the other is not. The next year the plant that flowered is almost all dead, but the non-flowering plant comes back as if nothing has happened to it.

Now, some years knotweed will NOT flower (or some will and others will not). In such cases I wait an extra month and hit the non-flowering knotweed at that time, it seems to work.

The reason for this is Knotweed send NOTHING to its roots till it flowers. When Knotweed flowers, it then starts to build up it roots and this is the only time of the year Knotweed sends energy from its leaves to its roots. Thus after Knotweed had flowered, you can use a root killing poison to kill it. Earaler use of such root killers, such as using them in the Spring, will kill the green parts of the plant, but the roots will survive and send up by green shoots and thus have almost no effect on the growth of the Knotweed.

I have had good effect with 5% round up. It is NOT a complete kill of knotweed unless you spread surviving shoots for the following 2-3 years. Each spraying tends to kill off more of the knotweed, and then it disappears.

Knotweed does NOT like water, but does like being on river banks (Thus tends to be on both side of a river or any other flowing body of water). Knotweed does NOT like mature woods, mature woods slowly kills off the knotweed among the trees. I see this in my area of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Railroad adopted Knotweed to quickly cover the mountain sides when those mountains were stripped of timber around 1900. Knotweed is located on many old abandoned railroad line for that reason. AS the forest have come back since 1900, the knotweed has died out among the tall trees, but is still big along old railroad beds, old mountain roads. river banks and other open areas.

When I was a teen, I worked for a lady that had a small knotweed plant in her back yard. I would dig down 3-4 feet to get all of the root out, but it would still come back. Digging, burning or using a non-root killer has no long term affect on knotweed. You have to use a root killing herbicide and then only after it has flowered AND then you should come back the next year to see how much of it comes back.

In one local area, I hit the knotweed, when it was growing to an height of 10-12 feet. I had a back back sprayer with a three, three foot extension so that I could spray the Knotweed from above as I walked through the patch. Such heights are NOT uncommon of Knotweed that has existed for decades (and remember it dies out above the roots every year).

The next year, the knotweed came back, but rarely over six feet tall (I am 6 feet 2 inches tall), and thus I could re spray the knotweed that second year and kill off more of the knotweed. The third year, it only came back in batches. Spraying tends to kill it.

Alternative ways to eliminate knotweed exist, all take more time then Round up. First is cattle or other herbivore. Cattle and other greazers love knotweed and will eat it up. Thus I have seen fields, where cattle is kept, next to knotweed infestation. Knotweed should be spreading into the field (Knotweed will send out branches as much as 20 feet away from the original plant), but every time a knotweed comes up, the cattle, shep or other herbivore eats it. This tends to keep the knotweed out of the herbivore''s field (I have seen such clean fields with cattle, then a wire fence that the cattle can not eat through, and then a massive infestation of Knotweed.

The problem with this natural method is most people do not want cattle in their parks, but it is the best alternative to Roundup.

Yes, I hate Knotweed, and I have tried my best to kill it off, but it is tough weed to kill.