Abstract
The trade in plants for planting is a major pathway for the introduction and further spread of alien plants, pests and diseases. Information about the structure of plant trade networks is not generally available, but it is valuable for better assessing the potential risks associated with the trade in live plants and the development of prevention and mitigation measures and policy. The discovery of two larvae of Anoplophora chinensis (citrus longhorn beetle – CLB) in 2009, at a nursery importing Acer palmatum from China in one of the major Dutch tree nursery areas, has resulted in the creation of a detailed dataset on the intra- European Union trade in its potential hosts. This study describes European imports of the primary host of A. chinensis, Acer spp., into the Netherlands (1998-2012) and the effects of the finding in a tree nursery area. In addition, shipments of Acer spp. from 138 producers in the nursery area in 2009 were analysed in a one-off analysis of intra-EU trade. The volume of Acer spp. imports from Asia was stable early during the studied period, and declined to 5% of the initial imports after a period of interceptions, illustrating the effect of regulations. The number of notifications of A. chinensis infestations in imported consignments of
Highlights
The international trade in plants for planting is a major pathway for the introduction of alien tree pests and diseases (Levine and D’Antonio 2003, Brasier 2008, Roques 2010, Liebhold et al 2012)
The best available data about movements of plant material into the European Union (EU) come from customs authorities, and these data inform the selection of consignments for phytosanitary inspections
Import quantities of Acer spp. into all of the Netherlands were large at some stage (2 million Acer plants imported in 2008–2010), this was small in comparison to trade of all tree nursery products to other parts of the European Union from the Boskoop area alone
Summary
The international trade in plants for planting is a major pathway for the introduction of alien tree pests and diseases (Levine and D’Antonio 2003, Brasier 2008, Roques 2010, Liebhold et al 2012). The best available data about movements of plant material into the EU come from customs authorities, and these data inform the selection of consignments for phytosanitary inspections These inspections are primarily intended as checks for compliance with prescribed phytosanitary measures in the country of origin, not at quantifying pest abundance. Since 1992, when controls on the movement of goods within the EU were abolished and the EU became a territory without internal frontiers, it has been difficult to obtain data on internal EU trade. This holds true for the plant and tree nursery trade with its wide network throughout Europe and great number of plant species and varieties. Information on destinations of traded plants and the number of destinations of plants from individual producers is extremely important for understanding and quantifying the potential risks associated with the trade in live plants and the development of mitigation measures and policy (Koch et al 2014, Shaw and Pautasso 2014)
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