EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 05 - 2009 Num. article: 2009/102

Assessing biofuel crop invasiveness in Hawaii (US)


There is growing interest in biofuels as a “green” and renewable solution to the world’s energy needs, particularly in the face of increasing cost and declining availability of fossil fuels. Some evidence suggests that biofuel crops are selected for traits that contribute to a higher probability of naturalization and invasiveness.
A list of 40 biofuel crops proposed for Hawaii (US) have been assessed through the adapted version of the Australian Weed Risk Assessment system (WRA) for Hawaii. For each plant assessed, the WRA system generates a score assisting policy-makers to determine if a plant can be introduced. If the score is higher than 6, the plant is rejected for import. If the score is lower than 1, the plant is accepted for import, and in between these 2 thresholds it is considered that the assessment could not be completed.
The result of the WRA system for the 40 biofuel crops with their intended use, known invasiveness elsewhere and occurrence in the EPPO region in the wild (this information does not consider whether the species is cultivated, only if it escaped and naturalized) checked in the EPPO PQR and DAISIE database are provided in the table below:

Biodiesel

Species
Inv.
Occurrence in EPPO
WRA
Risk
Aleurites moluccana (Euphorbiaceae)
Y
/
12
High
Arachis glabrata (Fabaceae)
N
/
-1
Low
Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae)
Y
/
10
High
Brassica napus (Brassicaceae)
Y
Widespread
16
High
Cocos nucifera (Arecaceae)
N
/
-4
Low
Copaifera langsdorffii (Fabaceae)
N
/
4
Incomplete
Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae)
N
/
9
High
Euphorbia lathyris (Euphorbiaceae)
Y
Widespread
8
High
Glycine max (Fabaceae)
N
FR, Madeira (PT)
-3
Low
Helianthus annuus (Astercaeae)
Y
Widespread
10.5
High
Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae)
Y
/
17
High
Linum usitatissimum (Linaceae)
Y
Widespread
9.5
High
Moringa oleifera (Moringaceae)
N
/
1
Low
Persea americana (Lauraceae)
N
/
3
Low
Pittosporum resiniferum (Pittosporaceae)
N
/
6
Incomplete
Pongamia pinnata (Fabaceae)
Y
/
9
High
Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae)
Y
Widespread
21
High
Simmondsia chinensis (Simmondsiaceae)
N
/
-3
Low
Triadica sebifera (Euphorbiaceae)
Y
/
14
High
Ulex europaeus (Fabaceae)
Y
Native in W-Eur.
20
High


Biomass

Species
Inv.
Occurrence in EPPO
WRA
Risk
Arundo donax (Poacee)
Y
Widespread
12
High
Calotropis gigantea (Apocynaceae)
Y
/
15
High
Cannabis sativa (Cannabaceae)
N
Widespread
11.5
High
Casuarina equisetifolia (Casuarinaceae)
Y
CY, Madeira (PT)
15
High
Eucalyptus globulus (Myrtaceae)
Y
Azores (PT), ES (incl. Canarias), GB, Madeira (PT)
10
High
Eucalyptus grandis (Myrtaceae)
Y
/
11
High
Eucalyptus robusta (Myrtaceae)
N
ES, PT
3
Low
Eucalyptus saligna (Myrtaceae)
N
/
7
High
Eucalyptus urophylla (Myrtaceae)
N
/
6
Incomplete
Fraxinus uhdei (Oleaceae)
Y
/
11
High
Macadamia integrifolia (Proteaceae)
N
/
-1
Low
Paraserianthes falcataria (Fabaceae)
Y
/
8
High
Prosopis juliflora (Fabaceae)
Y
/
19
High
Psidium cattleianum (Myrtaceae)
Y
Azores (PT)
18
High


Ethanol

Species
Inv.
Occurrence in EPPO
WRA
Risk
Leucaena leucocephala (Fabaceae)

ES (incl. Canarias), Madeira (PT)
15
High
Panicum maximum (Poaceae)
Y
/
17
High
Panicum virgatum (Poaceae)
N
/
11
High
Pennisetum purpureum (Poaceae)
Y
CY, Madeira (PT)
16
High
Pueraria montana (Fabaceae) (A2 List)
Y
CH, IT
24
High
Saccharum officinarum (Poaceae)
N
Madeira (PT)
-2
Low


Sources

Buddenhagen CE, Chimera C, Clifford P (2009) Assessing biofuel crop invasiveness: a case study. PloS ONE 4(4): e5261. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005261. http://www.plosone.org/article/info
Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe (DAISIE) http://www.europe-aliens.org/