Ecobreves – CUBA: Invasive Plants Gain Ground

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Jun 1 2009 (IPS) - Cuban scientists have warned that this Caribbean island nation lacks an updated inventory of invasive plant species and sufficient information about the real damage they cause the ecosystems. There is lack of information about the management of the plants marabú (Dichrostachys cinerea L), ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia) and paperbark trees (Melaleuca quinquenervia), which figure among the destructive species affecting Cuban savannahs and wetlands.

Ironwood is very harmful in coastal areas because it impedes the growth of native vegetation, Jesús Matos, president of the Cuban Group for Ecological Restoration, told Tierramérica.

Matos is working on a restoration project in Cayo Fragoso, in the central province of Villa Clara, which is studying this species imported as an ornamental plant and for creating shade on beaches.