Scientists suggest global guidelines for sustainable use of non-native trees to protect biodiversity

by CABI Prosopis juliflora, where in Afar County, Ethiopia, its coverage rapidly increased to 1,2 million ha in just 31 years. Credit: CABI A team of international scientists have collaborated to propose a series of global guidelines for the sustainable use of non-native tree species to help protect biodiversity and ecosystems around the world already threatened by climate change. The new paper, published today in the journal NeoBiota , uses the Council of Europe—Bern Convention Code of Conduct on Invasive Alien Trees as a starting point, to present eight recommendations all aimed at maximizing the benefits of non-native trees, while minimizing their negative impacts. The guidelines include using native trees, or non-invasive non-native trees as opposed to invasive non-native trees, being aware of the risk of invasion and consider global change trends and developing and supporting global networks and collaborative research and information sharing on native and non-native trees. The scientists suggest that the guidelines are a first step towards building a global agreement on the precautions that should be taken when introducing and planting non-native trees and serve to complement statutory requirements under international and national legislation. Lead author Dr. Giuseppe Brundu, from the University of Sassari, Italy, […]

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