Establishment and clonal spread of the alien shrub Rosa rugosa in coastal dunes—A method for reconstructing and predicting invasion patterns

Distribution and Habitat Preferences of the Invasive Alien Rosa rugosa (Rosaceae) in Archipelago Sea National Park, SW Finland

“…The area covered by R. rugosa in Archipelago Sea National Park is not as large as at some other localities in the Baltic region (e.g., Kollmann et al 2009;Aspelund & Ryttäri 2010), but there are many stands and they occur throughout the study area, so their potential for dispersal is high. Because there are many stands, and many small ones, now is the time to remove R. rugosa before the stands grow much larger and become really problematic to remove.…”

“…It can also become invasive in inland habitats such as Calluna heath (Isermann 2008b;Kollmann et al 2009;Thiele et al 2009). Rosa rugosa is a great threat to coastal ecosystems because it replaces native plant species and changes the composition of habitat types and suppresses natural vegetation of high conservation value Thiele et al 2010Thiele et al , 2011.…”

Distribution of alien species along sand dune plant communities zonation

“…Shrubs are also the predominant aliens in these dunes; Rosa rugosa in particular is known as an invader of dunes in northern Europe (77,78), such as (e.g., Hippophae rhamnoides) in Ireland (20). It must be stressed, though, that native shrubs that do not belong to these environments are also invading northern dunes (79).…”

“…Invasion of alien species has been recognized as a major problem for conservation management, and its control should be integrated into habitat restoration (77). In addition to ecological effects, invasive species also bring huge economic costs.…”

“…A study by Kollmann, et al (77) showed that mechanical control of Rosa rugosa by uprooting and burial of plants could not fully prevent re-sprouting of root fragments. Burial needs to be combined with hand pulling over several years, as suggested by Pickart, et al (89) for Lupinus arboreus, However, the negative aspect of the burial method is that it destroys the original dune structure (77), as well as that it might lead to an increase of mineralization (90).…”