In article ,
echinosum writes:
|
| Ground elder is a xxxxxx. And there is a thing called Alexanders which
| is a nuisance in some areas.

But they are not an ecological problem, and are native anyway!

| Introduced animals are much more frequently a problem - the zoological
| niche is more crowded and in-comers more frequently displace the locals
| without man's further assistance.

Grrk. Not quite. That's actually the CONVERSE of the problem! We
have such a restricted set of many types of animal that it is easy
for an introduced one to find an unoccupied niche - which may then
lead to excessive numbers and consequent problems to already scarce
species.

For example, the reason that roe deer, muntjac and mink spread so
easily is that fox and cat are the only common 'large' carnivores.
It has been observed that mink don't spread much into areas with an
established otter population, for example.

And little owls and collared doves spread because of the lack of
predatory birds.

This is why the anti-lynx brigade are so wrong - NOT reintroducing
lynx is as risky as introducing it.

| Britain used to have native rhododendrons before the ice ages.
| Unfortunately those kinds are now globally extinct. And we had all
| sorts of wonderful animals like hippos and elephants and hyenas and
| things.

Yes. I should like to see them restored :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.