Jump to content

Removal of non native CP's.


Recommended Posts

Having looked at a recent thread in this forum, I see that many areas of different countries have had non-native (with reference only to CP's) plants, in particular S purpurea introduced.

Regardless of you views about whether these plants should be removed for plant purity in those sites that have had introductions, do you feel that if you came across such plants it would be justified to grub up a specimen for your own collection?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oooooh! No. It would be the Divils own job to justify to the long arm! If I remember my lecture correctly it is OK to pick a non-protected plant if it is not to be sold or cultivated???

I think you can take them with the land owners permission, that could be Her Maj (not Madonna) or her government, or even harder to convince a wildlife organisation :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you cannot take a plant WITH ROOTS without the landowners permission under any circumstances. Foraging rights apply to certain plant parts such as blackberries, and you can pick non-protected flowers, along rights of way (but not for profit).

This applies to WILD plants, so not sure where a non-native species fits in...you could argue that it is not wild I guess...they probably come under cultivated plants though, and taking any without permission is then theft...

..and in a protected site you would need landowners permission AND consent from the relevant statutory agency...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ethically at least, I think it is fine provided that the plant is non-native and that the population is not important to the species as a whole. There are certainly some introduced populations that are now of conservation importance due to problems in the species' native range. One UK example is Mandarin Duck.

Of course if HRH (and yes, I do mean Madonna) okayed it then who is Bob to argue? :D

In the case of birds, in most countries introduced species have no protection at all, however rare the species is overall. This has led to problems protecting species that fit into the category above. Again, I don't know of any plant examples but there certainly are examples in other taxa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The countryside would be stripped of a lot of flora and fauna if anyone could take them because they weren't deemed native!

of course you can't just take them. all wild plants are protected, and you can only pick bits of certain plants. If someone has planted a non-native plant, eg an ornamental tree, then this obviously belongs to them and is a crop or property and taking this is theft. "wild" plants are usually not planted.

Does it mean you can steal cows? I don't think Fresians are native to England :D

as you have said, this is stealing as they belong to someone else

Link to comment
Share on other sites

of course you can't just take them. all wild plants are protected, and you can only pick bits of certain plants. If someone has planted a non-native plant, eg an ornamental tree, then this obviously belongs to them and is a crop or property and taking this is theft. "wild" plants are usually not planted.

Which is why you shouldn't take one of the planted purps in my view.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there not a fundamental difference between artificially planted trees and plants on private land (eg gardens,parks and introduced plants in otherwise natural habitats (eg purps in some of the sites they have been ntroduced too). In the latter situation, the plants are competing with natives. If I found a seedling of some Asian tree in a local woodland I would feel very happy about uprooting it. Indeed, I have spent many enjoyable afternoons rhododendron bashing and sycamore slashing.

I think people's objections to removal of purps is related purely to their interest in the specific plant rather than the rights or wrongs involved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think people's objections to removal of purps is related purely to their interest in the specific plant rather than the rights or wrongs involved.

Quite, and organisations like English Nature spend time and money grubbing-out or spraying-off plants once they become aware of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I 've heard stories of conservationists asking that purps in Irish bogs be removed. We live next to a SSSI, and the officers who run that have asked us to remove plants that are non native (we have a chainsaw!). I must admit that I would be happy to remove such plants as long as they were not the property of any individual.

Alex.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Sheila

I have often wondered where we stand on this subject. My woodland has a lot of Spanish bluebells just inside where people dump their garden rubbish. I have often thought about pulling them up because they are hybridising with our native bluebells and becoming a nuisance, but could I be prosecuted for trying to help our native plants to survive?? Up till now I have just been breaking off the flower heads as they come up, but it would be so much easier if they could be removed altogether.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Well remove those Spanish bluebells then! They are pollurting geneticaly your native bluebells.

But Sarracenia is not interbreeding with native plants... And as long it is not going to compete with native plants it should be allowed. In Switzerland there is a bog with Sarracenia planted there more as a 100 years ago. Still they have not dominated the bog nor replaced native species.

Actually those European bogs are not that much different from those in North America. A lot of plants growing in North European and North Asiatic bogs are also found in North America.

Species Like Drosera, Andromeda, Oxycoccus, Utricularia minor, Eriophorum, Menyanthes and Spaghnum are found all over the northern hemisphere. They have a holarctic distrubution. Sarracenia pupurea purpurea is in this sence a neoarctic representative of an holarctic type of ecosystem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Alexander, you've started stirring again, I see. That's a bit off the start of this thread but, hey, I missed this one the first time round.

Just by occupying space, aren't these plants competing? Just by being there, aren't they affecting the ecosystem? The local flies would certainly argue so. By saying it is ok to introduce a plant because it does not 'compete' with any other plant I think is ignoring the ecosystems in place. Basing your view on the ability of a plant to interbreed is pretty narrow minded, I would say. Species in ecosystems are often very specific about what they depend on; if you introduce a species, you will change an ecosystem. Who is to say what even a small effect will have 100,000 years later? Any change could result in a species extinction; unfortunately, we can't create new species very well.

What's the difference between colonisation taking place because a seed was carried on the leg of a migrating bird 100,000 years ago compared to seeds being brought back by someone on holiday last year? Intent? Probably frequency and probability.

I do not think there is a right answer and it all comes down to what the majority of the most powerful species wants. Unfortunately, the majority of those are selfish, greedy and stupid (enter Dilbert....).

The only thing I do know for certain is that if we keep changing ecosystems at a rate far faster than species can adapt or mutate, and keep increasing our own population then we will rapidly bring our own standard of living down along with biodiversity.

How's that for going slightly off topic on a Friday afternoon?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...