The association between financial subsidies and introduction of non-native plant species: The paradox of afforestation programmes

ABSTRACT

European Union (EU) afforestation programmes applied to marginal agricultural land contribute significantly to strengthening the rural economy and provide multiple products and ecosystem services. However, in some cases, they constituted the vehicle for the introduction and spread of invasive alien trees (IAS) in Europe. Invasive alien trees are now among the most conspicuous and damaging species, and they are regarded as a major threat to biodiversity throughout the world, causing economic, ecological and social effects. This survey focuses on a group of forest professionals directly involved in implementing EU afforestation, carried out under the Council Regulation (EEC) 2080/1992 and Council Regulation (EC) 1257/1999. A qualitative survey was conducted to assess the economic and environmental performance of EU afforestation programmes, through the analysis of professional opinions. Furthermore, as the use of invasive alien trees in the plantations has been a subject of great controversy, the survey attempts to explore experts’ attitudes and beliefs about the invasive plant species and the potential threats to the environment associated with their spread. The results indicate that the afforestation programmes did no manage to meet the intended goals, especially those related to the environment. They, also, highlight that knowledge about the methods and principles of dealing with plant IAS is limited, therefore better education is needed.

KEYWORDS:

• European afforestation
• non-native species
• forestry professionals’ perceptions
• environmental and economic assessment

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank experts of forest services who participated in the current survey. I would like, also, to thank the anonymous reviewers for the useful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.