The high demand for ornamental plants at a global scale, combined with modern and increasingly efficient modes of trade (i.e., e-commerce), highlights the horticultural trade industry as a subject of major conservation concern.
A recent paper, led by Dr Mesfin Gossa and published in Biodiversity and Conservation, reviews the value as well as the hazards associated with botanical gardens for biosecurity at a global scale.
New species are introduced to environments outside their native ranges, sometimes causing negative ecological and socio-economic impacts. Identifying which species are potentially problematic is important in planning strategic responses for preventing introductions and mitigating impacts in vulnerable environments such as cities.
The discovery of a clump of broad-leaved paper-bark trees (Melaleuca quinquenervia) in 2009 by a field ranger lead to an exciting study on this global wetland invader.
Research on rough-barked Honey Myrtle (Melaleuca parvistaminea) in South Africa began in 2009 when the newly formed SANBI’s Invasive Species Programme attempt to identify potentially invasive alien plant species as targets for eradication.