[en] We conducted a survey to determine how two professional sectors in Belgium, horticulture professionals and nature reserve managers (those directly involved in conservation), view the issues associated with invasive plant species. We developed and utilized a questionnaire that addressed the themes of awareness, concept and use of language, availability of information, impacts and, finally, control and available solutions. Using co-inertia analyses, we tested to what extent the perception of invasive alien species (IAS) was dependent upon the perception of Nature in general. Only forty-two percent of respondent horticulture professionals and eighty-two percent of nature reserve managers had a general knowledge of IAS. Many individuals in both target groups nonetheless had an accurate understanding of the scientific issues. Our results therefore suggest that the manner in which individuals within the two groups view, or perceive, the IAS issue was more the result of lack of information than simply biased perceptions of target groups. Though IAS perceptions by the two groups diverged, they were on par with how they viewed Nature in general. The descriptions of IAS by participants converged with the ideas and concepts frequently found in the scientific literature. Both managers and horticulture professionals expressed a strong willingness to participate in programs designed to prevent the spread of, and damage caused by, IAS. Despite this, the continued commercial availability of many invasive species highlighted the necessity to use both mandatory and voluntary approaches to reduce their re-introduction and spread. The results of this study provide stakeholders and conservation managers with practical information on which communication and management strategies can be based.
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Vanderhoeven, Sonia; Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Piqueray, Julien ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Halford, Mathieu ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Nulens, Greet
Vincke, Jan
Mahy, Grégory ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Biodiversité et Paysage
Language :
English
Title :
Perception and understanding of invasive alien species issues by nature conservation and horticulture professionals in Belgium
Publication date :
2011
Journal title :
Environmental Management
ISSN :
0364-152X
eISSN :
1432-1009
Publisher :
Springer Verlag, New York, United States - New York
Volume :
47
Pages :
425-442
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funders :
BELSPO - SPP Politique scientifique - Service Public Fédéral de Programmation Politique scientifique F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
Abdi H, Valentin D (2007) Multiple correspondence analysis. In: Salkind NJ (ed) Encyclopedia of measurement and statistics. Sage, Thousand Oaks, pp 651-657
A Alberini K Segerson 2002 Assessing voluntary programs to improve environmental quality Environmental and Resource Economics 22 157 184 10.1023/A:1015519116167 (Pubitemid 34635336)
J Andreu M Vilà P Hulme 2009 An assessment of stakeholder perceptions and management of noxious alien plants in Spain Environmental Management 43 1244 1255 10.1007/s00267-009-9280-1
DK Bardsley G Edwards-Jones 2007 Invasive species policy and climate change: social perceptions of environmental change in the Mediterranean Environmental Science & Policy 10 230 242 10.1016/j.envsci.2006.12.002 (Pubitemid 46523622)
Y Baskin 2002 The greening of horticulture: new codes of conduct aim to curb plant invasions BioScience 52 464 471 10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0464: TGOHNC]2.0.CO;2 (Pubitemid 34623269)
CE Bell CA Wilen AE Santon 2003 Invasive plants of horticultural origin Hortscience 38 14 16 (Pubitemid 36317683)
Branquart E (2008) Alert, black and watch lists of invasive species in Belgium. Harmonia version 2.5. http://ias.biodiversity.be. Accessed: 13 Nov 2008
A Bremner K Park 2007 Public attitudes to the management of invasive non-native species in Scotland Biological Conservation 139 306 314 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.005 (Pubitemid 47384697)
AE Buijs BHM Elands F Langers 2009 No wilderness for immigrants: cultural differences in images of nature and landscape preferences Landscape and Urban Planning 91 113 123 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.12.003
JH Burt AA Muir J Piova-Scott, et al. 2007 Preventing horticultural introductions of invasive plants: potential efficacy of voluntary initiatives Biological Invasions 9 909 923 10.1007/s10530-007-9090-4 (Pubitemid 47622249)
RI Colautti HJ MacIsaac 2004 A neutral terminology to define 'invasive' species Diversity and Distributions 10 135 141 10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00061.x (Pubitemid 38562844)
Convention on Biological Diversity (2002) Decision VI/23*of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD, Annex, footnote to the Introduction. In: Diversity CoB (ed). The Hague.http://www.cbd.int/invasive/terms.shtml
De Bruyne L, Anselin A, Casaer J et al (2007) Uitheemse soorten. Natuurrapport, Instituut voor Natuur-en Bosonderzoek, Meise
De Groot WT (1999) Van vriend naar vijand naar verslagene en verder: een evolutionair percpectief op de verhouding tussen mens en natuur: Inauguratierede. Nijmegen University press, Nijmegen
K Dehnen-Schmutz J Touza C Perrings, et al. 2007 The horticultural trade and ornamental plant invasions in Britain Conservation Biology 21 224 231 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00538.x
SA Dray D Chessel J Thioulouse 2003 Co-inertia analysis and the linking of ecological data tables Ecology 84 3078 3089 10.1890/03-0178 (Pubitemid 38261454)
SA Dray B Dufour D Chessel 2007 The ade4 package-II: two-table and K-table methods R News 7 47 52
J Drew N Anderson D Andow 2010 Conundrums of a complex vector for invasive species control: a detailed examination of the horticultural industry Biological Invasions 12 2837 2851 10.1007/s10530-010-9689-8
JA Gagliardi MH Brand 2007 Connecticut nursery and landscape industry preferences for solutions to sale and use of invasive plants Horticultural Technology 17 39 45 (Pubitemid 46183821)
M García-Llorente B Martín-López JA González, et al. 2008 Social perceptions of the impacts and benefits of invasive alien species: implications for management Biological Conservation 141 2969 2983 10.1016/j.biocon.2008.09.003
P Genovesi 2005 Eradications of invasive alien species in Europe: a review Biological Invasions 7 127 133 10.1007/s10530-004-9642-9 (Pubitemid 40084239)
P Genovesi C Shine 2004 European strategy on invasive alien species Nature and Environment 137 68
RA Harrington R Kujawski HDP Ryan 2003 Invasive plants and the green industry Journal of Arboriculture 29 42 48 (Pubitemid 36230084)
Heywood V, Brunel S (2008) Code of conduct on horticulture and invasive alien plants. Council of Europe, Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and natural habitats. T-PVS/Inf 2
Hulme PE (2007) Biological invasions in Europe: drivers, pressures, states, impacts and responses. In: Hester RE, Harrison RM (eds) Issues in environmental science technology. Biodiversity under threat. The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, pp 56-80
Jacobs M, ven den Berg M, van Kralingen R et al (2002) Waterbeelden: een studie naar de beelden van natuur onder medewerkers van rijkswaterstatt. Onderzoek Instituut voor Groene Ruimte Wageningen, pp 124 pp
I Kowarik 2003 Human agency in biological invasions: secondary releases foster naturalisation and population expansion of alien plant species Biological Invasions 5 293 312 (Pubitemid 38042832)
Kowarik I, Schepker H (1998) Plant invasions in northern Germany: human perception and response. In: Starfinger U, Edwards K, Kowarik I, Williamson M (eds) Plant invasions: ecological mechanisms and human responses. Backhuys, Leiden, pp 109-120
AS MacDougall R Turkington 2005 Are invasive species the drivers or passengers of change in degraded ecosystems? Ecology 86 42 55 10.1890/04-0669 (Pubitemid 40199590)
Mack RN (2001) Motivations and consequences of the human dispersal of plants. In: McNeely JA (ed) The great reshuffling: human dimension of invasive alien species. IUCN, The World Conservation Union, Gland, pp 23-34
RN Mack D Simberloff WM Lonsdale, et al. 2000 Biotic invasions: causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control Ecological Applications 10 689 710 10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[0689:BICEGC]2.0.CO;2 (Pubitemid 32139517)
McNeely JA (2001) The great reshuffling: human dimensions of invasive alien species. IUCN, Gland
A Monty C Stainier F Lebeau, et al. 2008 Seed rain pattern of the invasive weed Senecio inaequidens (Astreraceae) Belgian Journal of Botany 141 51 63
FD Panetta SM Timmins 2004 Evaluating the feasibility of eradication for terrestrial weed incursions Plant Protection Quarterly 19 5 11
W Peters M Meyer N Anderson 2006 Minnesota horticultural industry survey on invasive plants Euphytica 148 75 86 10.1007/s10681-006-5942-8 (Pubitemid 43825137)
Pieret N, Delbart E, Mahy G (2008) Cellule d'appui à la Gestion des plantes invasives. http://www.fsagx.ac.be/ec/gestioninvasives.pages/accueil. htm. Accessed 13 Nov 2008
J Piqueray G Mahy S Vanderhoeven 2008 Naturalization and impact of a horticultural species, Cotoneaster horizontalis (Rosaceae) in biodiversity hotspots in Belgium Belgian Journal of Botany 141 113 124
Pyšek P (1995) On the terminology used in plant invasion studies. In: Pyšek P, Prach K, Rejmánek M, Wade M (eds) Plant invasions-general aspects and special problems. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, pp 71-81
P Pyšek J Sádlo B Mandák 2002 Catalogue of alien plants of the Czech Republic Preslia 71 97 186 (Pubitemid 34718456)
R Development Core Team (2009) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical computing, Vienna. http://R-project.org
Reaser J (2001) Invasive alien species prevention and control: the art and science of managing people. In: McNeely JA (ed) The great reshuffling. Human dimensions of invasive alien species. IUCN, The World Conservation Union, Gland, pp 89-104
J Reaser L Meyerson B Von Holle 2008 Saving camels from straws: how propagule pressure-based prevention policies can reduce the risk of biological invasion Biological Invasions 10 1085 1098 10.1007/s10530-007-9186-x
SH Reichard 2004 Conflicting values and common goals: codes of conducts to reduce the threat of invasive species Weed Technology 18 1503 1507 10.1614/0890-037X(2004)018[1503:CVACGC]2.0.CO;2
SH Reichard P White 2001 Horticulture as a pathway of invasive plant introductions in the United States Bioscience 51 103 113 10.1641/0006-3568(2001) 051[0103:HAAPOI]2.0.CO;2 (Pubitemid 32247684)
SH Reichard DC Schmitz D Simberloff, et al. 2005 The tragedy of the common revisited: invasive species Frontiers in Ecology and Environment 3 103 109 10.1890/1540-9295(2005)003[0103:TTOTCR]2.0.CO;2
DM Richardson P Pysek M Rejmanek, et al. 2000 Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions Diversity and Distributions 6 93 107 10.1046/j.1472-4642.2000.00083.x
Shine C, Williams N, Gundling L (2000) A guide to designing legal and Institutional frameworks on Invasive alien species. IUCN, Cambridge
U Starfinger I Kowarik M Rode, et al. 2003 From desirable ornamental plant to pest to accepted addition to the flora?-the perception of an alien tree species through the centuries Biological Invasions 5 323 335 10.1023/B:BINV.0000005573.14800.07 (Pubitemid 38050980)
MS Tiébré S Vanderhoeven L Saad, et al. 2007 Hybridization and sexual reproduction in the invasive alien Fallopia (Polygonaceae) complex in Belgium Annals of Botany 99 193 203 10.1093/aob/mcl242 (Pubitemid 47355452)
K Verheyen M Vanhellemont T Stock, et al. 2007 Predicting patterns of invasion by black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) in Flanders (Belgium) and its impact on the forest understorey community Diversity and Distributions 13 487 497 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2007.00334.x (Pubitemid 47262876)
