11. Challenges and solutions in early detection, rapid response and communication about potential invasive alien species in forestsMaarten De Groot, Richard O'Hanlon, Erin Bullas-Appleton, György Csóka, Ágnes Csíszár, Massimo Faccoli, Eugenio Gervasini, Natalia Kirichenko, Márton Korda, Aleksander Marinšek, Nikki Robinson, Craig Shuttleworth, Jon Sweeney, Elena Tricarico, Laura Verbrugge, David Williams, Simon Zidar, Jana Kus Veenvliet, 2020, review article Abstract: Invasive alien species (IAS) are an important threat to forests. One of the best ways to manage potential IAS is through early detection and rapid response (EDRR) strategies. However, when dealing with IAS in forests, EU regulations are divided between phytosanitary regulations and IAS regulations. A version of EDRR for the former has been in place in the EU for more than 15 years while the latter is still in the process of being implemented. During 2019, a workshop was held to gather international experts on different plant health pests and IAS. The purpose of this workshop was to identify the opportunities and difficulties in applying the EDRR system in the EU phytosanitary and IAS legislation to four species for providing suggestions to improve the EDRR system. The model species are well known and come from different trophic levels. These species were the American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana), the grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis); and the plant health pests Geosmithia morbida and Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis). We identified the similarities in the challenges of early detection, rapid response and communication of these species. For all species, difficulties in species identification, knowledge gaps on the pathways of spread, a lack of resources and uncertainty over which national government service was the competent authority were identified as the main challenges. Other challenges like public perception for the grey squirrel or methodological problems were species-specific. Regarding the rapid response: public perception, determination of the eradication area, sufficient scientific capacity and the lack of resources were common challenges for all species. Therefore, collaboration between institutes dealing with plant health pests and IAS can lead to better control of both groups of unwanted %organisms in forests.
Keywords: early warning system, plant health legislation, EU IAS legislation, alien species, Geosmithia morbida, Emerald ash borer, American pokeweed, Grey squirrel, rapid response system
Published in DiRROS: 11.12.2020; Views: 1592; Downloads: 589
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12. Using citizen science to monitor the spread of tree pests and diseases : outcomes of two projects in Slovenia and the UKPeter Crow, Ana Pérez-Sierra, Andreja Kavčič, Kate Lewthwaite, Marija Kolšek, Nikica Ogris, Barbara Piškur, Jana Kus Veenvliet, Simon Zidar, Suzanne Sancisi-Frey, Maarten De Groot, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: The trees and forests of Europe are increasingly under threat from new pests and diseases that have originated in other parts of the world. Early detection of alien species when they first appear in European countries allows rapid response and offers the best chance to mitigate against their establishment and spread. Citizen science initiatives such as LIFE ARTEMIS in Slovenia, and Observatree in the UK, provide members of the public with the necessary training and educational resource to identify these tree pests and diseases and report them to the appropriate authorities, thereby increasing the level of surveillance and the capacity of the early warning system. This paper summarises some of the outcomes of these two projects and how they have both become integral parts of the official forest and tree health monitoring systems within their respective countries of Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
Keywords: invasive alien species, plant health, tree health, forest health, early warning, rapid response
Published in DiRROS: 16.11.2020; Views: 1676; Downloads: 838
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13. Towards a better early detection and rapid response system against invasive alien species in forestsMaarten De Groot, Jana Kus Veenvliet, Nikica Ogris, Aleksander Marinšek, Lado Kutnar, 2020, preface, editorial, afterword Keywords: invasive alien species, plant health, tree health, forest health, early warning, rapid response
Published in DiRROS: 16.11.2020; Views: 1362; Downloads: 738
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14. Consistency of impact assessment protocols for non-native speciesPablo González-Moreno, Lorenzo Lazzaro, Montserrat Vila, Cristina Preda, Tim Adriaens, Sven Bacher, Giuseppe Brundu, Gordon H. Copp, Franz Essl, Nikica Ogris, 2019, original scientific article Abstract: Standardized tools are needed to identify and prioritize the most harmful non-native species (NNS). A plethora of assessment protocols have been developed to evaluate the current and potential impacts of non-native species, but consistency among them has received limited attention. To estimate the consistency across impact assessment protocols, 89 specialists in biological invasions used 11 protocols to screen 57 NNS (2614 assessments). We tested if the consistency in the impact scoring across assessors, quantified as the coefficient of variation (CV), was dependent on the characteristics of the protocol, the taxonomic group and the expertise of the assessor. Mean CV across assessors was 40%, with a maximum of 223%. CV was lower for protocols with a low number of score levels, which demanded high levels of expertise, and when the assessors had greater expertise on the assessed species. The similarity among protocols with respect to the final scores was higher when the protocols considered the same impact types. We conclude that all protocols led to considerable inconsistency among assessors. In order to improve consistency, we highlight the importance of selecting assessors with high expertise, providing clear guidelines and adequate training but also deriving final decisions collaboratively by consensus.
Keywords: environmental impact, expert judgement, invasive alien species policy, management prioritization, risk assessment, socio-economic impact
Published in DiRROS: 03.04.2019; Views: 2224; Downloads: 983
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