Invasive plants

Most countries have experienced unexpected problems with introduced plants and animals.

The dingo was probably the first introduced species after humans arrived - generally considered to be about 4000 years ago, based on both fossil and rock art evidence.

In the last two hundred and twenty years, many species of plant and animal have been introduced into Australia.

Queensland has had a number of well-documented examples: the prickly pear, the cane-toad, the rabbit, horse, cat, goat, and pig. The ballast water carried by ships and then discharged into Australian waters is responsible for introducing aquatic species - all have the potential to become pest species. Approximately fifty-eight million tonnes of ballast water is discharged by foreign ships each year. The damage done by introduced plants and animals in economic terms is incalculable. Introduced animals have a major negative impact on commercially important tree species - particularly when young - and each year the situation worsens.

Invasive, non-native plants that invade Queensland's forests and wetlands are replacing native plant species. They often form exotic monocultures (where nothing else grows). In many cases, these stands of exotic plants are not useful to the state's wildlife, which has evolved to depend on native plants for food and shelter. Invasive plant species are therefore responsible, in some cases, for removing both native plants and animals from significant areas of Queensland.

Pinus species (pine trees) are regarded as invasive plant species in Australia. They have naturalised and are invading native forests in the areas where plantations exist.

Due to the economic importance of pine trees, other invasive plants, such as the Rubber vine (Cryptostegia grandiflora) - which is destroying dry rainforests in northern Australia, including central and northern Queensland - and Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) - which is invading subtropical rainforests and excluding native plant species - are regarded as more of a concern.

See the links below for more information on invasive plants. The University of Florida database claims to be the world's largest online resource and is also relevant because several problem species that have been introduced into Florida are also causing problems in Queensland. (Possibly due to their similar climates).

More Online Information

The Queensland Department of Natural Resources has information on both of these plants at Fact Sheets: Pest Facts [1].

The University of Florida has the world's largest online resource about Invasive Plant Species. Follow this link to the Aquatic, Wetland and Invasive Plant Information Retrieval System (APIRS) [2].

The Commonwealth of Australia: Plant Biosecurity. Importing goods of plant origin. Information and download-able documents on both International and Australian plant quarantine standards.

Return >> to Pine trees in Queensland

Glossary

Exotic plants: not native to the country in which they are planted.

Native: found naturally occurring

Naturalise: To adapt or acclimatise (a plant or an animal) to a new environment; introduce and establish as if native.

Citations

[1] Queensland (Australia) Department of Natural Resources (DNR) (2001, January). Fact Sheets: Pest Facts [Portable document format] URL http://www.dnr.qld.gov.au/resourcenet/fact_sheets/pestfacts.html

[2] University of Florida (2001). Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences: Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants [WWW online database] URL http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/

[3] Plant Biosecurity (2001, February). Importing goods of plant origin [WWW Document] URL http://www.affa.gov.au/docs/market_access/biosecurity/plant/intercoopn.html (visited May, 2001).

Copyright D. L. Christiansen [Last updated May 2001] Images: respective copyright owners noted/cited.

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