Alien vascular plants: Research and results (Head E. Fremstad)

The project has made reviews of alien vascular plant species that have established themselves in Norway, and their possible effects on Norwegian habitats. It has assessed the possibility to predict establishment and spread of alien species, and has presented a number of case studies of species that are spreading in Norway. A study of alien species along a climatic and land use gradient in Sogn remains to be published. Information on alien species has been given to the Directorate of Nature Management and a Nordic group dealing with the topic.

Characteristic features of the large Fallopia taxa. A: Shoot of Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) where the characteristic leaf base is shown on the upper left leaf. B: Leaf shape of Giant Knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis). The typical leaf base is shown on the lowermost leaf. Photographed in June 1995; the leaves are still not fully grown. C: The hybrid Fallopia x bohemica, here with rather elongate leaves. Photo: Eli Fremstad. From Fremstad, E. & Elven, R. 1997. Fremmede planter i Norge. De store Fallopia-artene (Abstract: Alien plants in Norway. The large Fallopia species.) Blyttia 55: 3-14. Other case studies of spread of alien plants, all published in Blyttia 1996-2000: Acer pseudoplatanus, Rosa rugosa, Sambucus spp., Thlaspi caerulescens and Lupinus spp.