The purpose of this study was to investigate if botanical gardens in Stockholm, Uppsala and Gothenburg could be a source for spread of invasive species in Sweden. The method consisted of visits to each garden with inventory of the collections and interviews with the staff. The species included in the study were either on or suggested for the list in the EU regulation 1143/2014 or listed by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency as invasive or potentially invasive species in Sweden. 16 of the 34 species included in the study were found within or around one or more gardens and of those are 8 already established in Sweden and 6 could establish and become invasive with climate change. The study showed that the invasive species could outcompete other organisms by being fast growing and persistent as well as highly reproductive and sometimes harmful to other plants, animals or humans. It also suggests that high seed production and vegetative reproduction from small plant fragments may facilitate spread from botanical gardens in general. By creating awareness of invasive species, the gardens could prevent spread from other sources. Whether or not the gardens’ management of their collections could lead to spread and introduction of invasive species in Sweden is still unexplored and suitable for further studies. The species’ traits however do pose a risk of spread from the botanical gardens in the study, as well as other gardens, and establishment in the Swedish nature.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-150136 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Leonora, Fältström |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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