Tuesday 20 July 2010

GM crops qualify as invasive threat to wildlife and native plants?

GM crop
Himalyan Balsam


GM crops tick all the boxes....as an "Invasive Species Threat?".(see bullet points below) This is just a thought which occurred to me when reading about non native invasive plants and the threats they pose to wildlife and the habitat.

This is International Year of Biodiversity, and in the UK attention has focused on those non-native invasive plants which cause problems for wildlife and other plants.Three troublesome species in the UK are Giant Hogweed(can cause painful blistering on contact with skin),Himalyan Balsam, and Japanese Knotweed.
Conservation groups and Natural England have organized workgroups and volunteers to survey for Himalyan Balsam, and pull them up, before the weed releases its seeds.
 
*Giant Hogweed can be a health risk in areas of public access.
*If left out of hand the plants can lead to bank erosion and a greater risk of winter flash floods.
*These plants are a huge threat because they create vast monocultures that out-compete our native species and threaten the biodiversity of the areas they inhabit.
*"Invasive plants and animals are those which threaten native species, damaging their habitat,spreading disease or by competing with them for their "niche" in an ecosystem.
*Many invasive species are successful because they have no natural predators in their new environment." (Guardian.co.uk, ,jan 22 2010)