Invasive species
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Bioenergy > Issues > Environment > Biodiversity > Invasive species
Invasive species are species that are not native to an area and which may compete with and displace native species.
There is some concern that certain plants promoted for use as feedstocks for biofuels could be invasive species disruptive to native species and ecosystems.
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Reports
- Fuel crops 'pose invasion risk', 20 May 2008 by BBC: "Nations should avoid planting biofuel crops that have a high risk of becoming invasive species," according to a report by the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) released at a meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
- The report urges that biofuel crop selection be preceded by careful assessments, and that plants selected should be native species and those with low risk of spreading and degradation of native habitat. Species selection is site-specific: "For example, a crop like Arundo donax (giant reed), which would cause concern in North America, would not cause the same concern in its native habitat in places like Eurasia....Giant reed, which is naturally flammable, increases the risk of wildfires in places such as California, threatening human settlements as well as native species."[1]
- Download the GISP report, "Biofuel crops and the use of non-native species: Mitigating the risks of invasion", at http://www.gisp.org/publications/briefing/index.asp.
