A risk categorisation and analysis of the geographic and temporal dynamics of the European import of plants for planting

Abstract

The international trade in plants for planting (P4Ps) is a major pathway for the introduction of plant pests. The global trade in P4Ps is both voluminous and highly diverse, but there is little detailed knowledge about its diversity and dynamics. This makes it difficult to assess the risks associated with this trade and to prioritise high-risk commodities (genus-origin combinations) for detailed inspection or regulation. Using the ISEFOR database, this paper describes the diversity and dynamics of P4P imports into the EU, based on genus-level data for lots imported into fourteen Member States that provided this data for different periods between 2005 and 2014, totalling over 30Bn plants and over 7500 commodities. There was great variety, as well as complementarity, in terms of the imported genera, origins and commodities among the countries. Two-thirds of the imported commodities changed every year. Based on the 10-year data from the Netherlands, the greatest importer of live plants in the dataset, we developed a risk categorisation approach for prioritising the highest risk commodities, based on risk associated information concerning the imported genus and the history of trade with respect to the exporting countries, genera and type of plant material traded. Application of this risk categorisation led to the identification of a modest number of commodities that represent elevated risk, to which more inspection resources can be allocated Guest Editors: Andrew Liebhold, Eckehard Brockerhoff and Martin Nuñez / Special issue on Biological Invasions in Forests prepared by a task force of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO).

Diversity of Phytophthora species in Valdivian rainforests and association with severe dieback symptoms

“…prov. from Valdivian rainforests also proved to be pathogenic Schmutz, Holdenrieder, Jeger, & Pautasso, 2010;Drew, Anderson, & Andow, 2010;Huai et al, 2013;Jung, Chang, et al, 2017;Jung et al, 2016; this study), annual imports of more than 3 billion plants-for-planting from overseas to Europe, including more than 1 billion each from Asia and South America (Eschen et al, 2017), pose a potential threat to natural ecosystems, forestry and horticulture in Europe. In the previous two decades, numerous international research projects and EU-funded international research networks investigated and discussed the increasing threats by invasive alien pests and pathogens (IAPs), po- Europe is mainly caused by the exponential increase in imports of plants-for-planting from other continents.…”

“…from Valdivian rainforests also proved to be pathogenic to Q. suber (T. Jung, M. Horta Jung and C. Maia, unpublished results). Against the background of the presence of numerous, previously unknown and potentially harmful Phytophthora species in natural ecosystems of other continents, almost ubiquitous infestations of European nurseries with 49 Phytophthora species and the complexity and intensity of the modern nursery trade (Dehnen‐Schmutz, Holdenrieder, Jeger, & Pautasso, ; Drew, Anderson, & Andow, ; Huai et al., ; Jung, Chang, et al., ; Jung, Horta Jung, Scanu, et al., ; Jung et al., ; this study), annual imports of more than 3 billion plants‐for‐planting from overseas to Europe, including more than 1 billion each from Asia and South America (Eschen et al., ), pose a potential threat to natural ecosystems, forestry and horticulture in Europe. In the previous two decades, numerous international research projects and EU‐funded international research networks investigated and discussed the increasing threats by invasive alien pests and pathogens (IAPs), potential pathways, effective mitigation measures and necessary policy changes.…”

Pest risk assessment of Radopholus similis for the EU territory

“…The relevant trade categories were allocated to the following four pathways (PW1, PW2, PW3 and PW4) from the class 1 countries (subtropical countries with known infestation, for more details see the Appendix D) as shown in Table . The number of consignment was calculated based on EUROSTAT data, percentiles of host plants per pathway derived from the ISEFOR database (Eschen et al., ) conversion factor (for more detailed information see Appendix D).…”

“…One company in the Netherlands, Anthura B.B., is the main supplier of plugs within the EU as well as globally. Nevertheless, Anthurium plants are still introduced with about 1.6 million plants imported to the Netherlands between 2000 and 2010 (ISEFOR database, Eschen et al., ).…”

“…According to the ISEFOR database (database developed within the FP7 Project ‘Increasing Sustainability of European Forests: Modelling for Security Against Invasive Pests and Pathogens under Climate Change’) (Eschen et al., ), between the year 2000 and 2011, 45 million plants of the nine genera on which interceptions of R. similis have been detected (EUROPHYT, online, see Table ) have been imported into countries included in the ISEFOR database (the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany, Italy and France) (Eschen et al., ). The most important countries of origin were Honduras, Australia and Costa Rica with more than 10 million plants each.…”