<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1543" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>Dear colleagues,<BR><BR>A short message to inform you about the situation
of biological invasions in the Ardennes. Though ecosystem integrity is rather
good in this region of the country, quite a lot of field observations show
that it is currently invaded by several non-native species. <BR><BR>The pictures
here attached show you the invasion of the banks of an Ourthe tributary by
Heracleum mantegazzianum. The plant is found in very different natural habitats,
including Natura 2000 sites and nature reserves: Alnus forests, tall herb
grasslands, etc. Seeds are transported by the river and colonisation is
impressive. It doesn't confine to the tributary but follow the Ourthe
river up to the Nisramont dam. Without immediate management actions, impact on
biodiversity will be huge. And consequences for human health will be dramatic as
well (anglers, farmers, foresters, tourists, etc.).</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>A similar situation is observed with Spiraea alba, invading river banks in
different parts of the Ardennes. Also several populations of Lysichiton
americanus, a plant of the EPPO alert list. In the same region, the frequency of
observations of raccoon (Procyon lotor) dramatically increased during the last
months.<BR><BR>What I find especially worrying is that those species do not
confine at all to disturbed or man-made habitats but really invade high
conservation value sites. Action is needed urgently
!<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR><BR>Etienne</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>==========================================================================<BR> <BR>Dr.
Etienne Branquart<BR>Belgian Biodiversity Platform (SPO)<BR> <BR>Ministere
de la Region wallonne<BR>Centre de Recherche de la Nature, des Forets et du Bois
(DGRNE)<BR>Avenue Marechal Juin, 23<BR>B-5030 Gembloux- Belgium<BR> <BR>Tel
: + 32 (0)81 620 420<BR>Fax : + 32 (0)81 620 436<BR>E-mail :
<A
href="mailto:E.Branquart@mrw.wallonie.be">E.Branquart@mrw.wallonie.be</A><BR>URL:
<A
href="http://www.biodiversity.be">http://www.biodiversity.be</A><BR> <BR>==========================================================================<BR> <BR>Ce
message n'engage aucunement la DGRNE et reste informel. Tout
courrier<BR>officiel doit toujours actuellement être confirmé par lettre et
revêtu de la<BR>signature d'un agent dûment
mandaté<BR>==========================================================================</FONT></DIV></BODY><br />--
<br />Ce message a été vérifié par
<a href="http://www.mailscanner.info/"><b>MailScanner</b></a>
<br />pour des virus ou des polluriels et rien de
<br />suspect n'a été trouvé.
<br />MailScanner remercie <a href="http://www.transtec.fr/">transtec</a> pour son soutien.
</HTML>