Talk:Non Native Pests

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[edit] The Rhododendron, a pest ???

How strange to think of the Rhododendron as a pest. I didn't realise that it had spread from the Iberian peninsula, i thought it was always from the Indian Himalayas. But when you think of the rhododendron one invariably thinks of splendid forests in shocking reds, pinks and mauves and huge tall dark trees. The shrubs though are more in the higher altitude areas. The rhododendron becomes smaller with altitude like in Sikkim. So if rhododendron is a pest there, are the oaks and hazel woods pests in the northern areas of the himalayas?

I know that the one pest that we have in India is the lantana shrub but fortunately in the last decade or so we've managed to find a way of keeping it under control. Earlier the forest departments used to go hacking , and burning vast areas down to stop it from spreading (apparently it turns the soil acidic as well, though this i'm not perfectly sure of) . Now NGO's in the shiwalik and lower himalayan areas have been teaching the landless and poorer populace how to make furniture from lantana wood. This has worked wonders as its now a source of livelihood and doesnt spread as much. The maximum I've seen its spread is in the Dehradun and Chakrata areas in Uttaranchal state.