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Alien Pest
Exotic Plants Destroying Biodiversity In the United States
Save the rain forests, just don't bring them to live here!
We need to make every conceivable effort to preserve the biodiversity which exists in the worlds rainforests. There is no doubt on that point. A whopping 50 percent of the worlds species exist in these areas, many are not even cataloged, some may hold the promise and potential for tremendous scientific advancement. That is, if they don't disappear before they can be discovered and tested.
Biodiversity at home
Destruction of biodiversity is also a problem in the United States and many other parts of the world other than rainforests. In the united states, some of the same plants that enhance, and inhabit the rainforests of the world, are eating our forests and lakes.
A lot of people believe that all things green are good. That may be true, where plants exists in natural habitats, with natural enemies to help keep them in check. What happens when these plants move from that natural setting, into fertile and temperate regions with no checking and balancing enemies?
Well, according to the National Invasive Species Information Center the cost in damage and control from invasive species in the United States annually is at least 100 billion dollars. The picture painted by the National Geological Survey is no more inviting. That is what can happen. Anyone who has seen "kudzu" envelope a forest and a house, and looked out onto miles of healthy dense "salvinia molesta," surrounding boats and docks with little other visible sign that the area is a lake, knows what I am talking about! There is a certain feeling in the pit of the stomach when you realize just how powerful, and dangerous nature can be. It is not a pleasant feeling.
The true threat
The real threat, is not emotional, or solely economic. It is ecological. While these plants may damage farm and ranch lands, timber production, lake access, the true damage is to the regions biodiversity!
Some of the natives cannot compete and coexist with these aggressors. When this happens, the cost to the environment becomes enormous. This is devastatingly true to species whose existence may be hanging by a thread, and ours with it. Biological existence operates as a chain, or a puzzle, remove one link, and the chain is broken. Remove a piece of the puzzle, and the picture is incomplete. Remember, without cement, concrete is just sand and gravel, and will not provide a good foundation.
I agree, that we should save the rainforests, just don't invite them to live here!
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