Biological Invasion
The official statistics indicate that 127 alien invasive species
have been detected in China, including 10 animals and 11 plants found in wetlands. The Environmental Protection Administration of China declared 16 notorious invasive species including 5 wetlands species. These 16 species may cause 7.0 thousand million dollars (USD) of direct economic loss annually, much of which is attributed to the 5 species that invaded wetlands. For example, alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) was first recorded in the suburbs of Shanghai in 1892, and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crasssipes) was introduced into China in 1901 as a garden flower. Native to South America, both species were used as forage from 1950 to 1980, and currently occur in most lakes and rivers in eastern China. Smooth cord grass (Spartina alterniflora), native to the Atlantic coast of North America, was introduced in 1979 to protect coastal dikes and to reduce coastal erosions from tides, and it is currently distributed in 1120 km2 of coastal areas. It was estimated that these three invasive species may have caused a total annual economic loss of 2.0 thousand million dollars (USD) in terms of jammed coastal waterways and economic species loss from habitat conversion and ecosystem collapses.
Data come from:
S. An, H. Li, B. Guan, C. Zhou, Z. Wang, Z. Deng, Y. Zhi, Y. Liu, C. Xu, S. Fang, J. Jiang and H. Li, China’s Natural Wetlands: Past Problems, Current Status, and Future Challenges, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2007
The official statistics indicate that 127 alien invasive species
have been detected in China, including 10 animals and 11 plants found in wetlands. The Environmental Protection Administration of China declared 16 notorious invasive species including 5 wetlands species. These 16 species may cause 7.0 thousand million dollars (USD) of direct economic loss annually, much of which is attributed to the 5 species that invaded wetlands. For example, alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides) was first recorded in the suburbs of Shanghai in 1892, and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crasssipes) was introduced into China in 1901 as a garden flower. Native to South America, both species were used as forage from 1950 to 1980, and currently occur in most lakes and rivers in eastern China. Smooth cord grass (Spartina alterniflora), native to the Atlantic coast of North America, was introduced in 1979 to protect coastal dikes and to reduce coastal erosions from tides, and it is currently distributed in 1120 km2 of coastal areas. It was estimated that these three invasive species may have caused a total annual economic loss of 2.0 thousand million dollars (USD) in terms of jammed coastal waterways and economic species loss from habitat conversion and ecosystem collapses.
Data come from:
S. An, H. Li, B. Guan, C. Zhou, Z. Wang, Z. Deng, Y. Zhi, Y. Liu, C. Xu, S. Fang, J. Jiang and H. Li, China’s Natural Wetlands: Past Problems, Current Status, and Future Challenges, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2007