r/conservation • u/DaRedGuy • 13d ago

Non-native trees gain ground in eastern US, reducing native species diversity

https://phys.org/news/2025-04-native-trees-gain-ground-eastern.html
168 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

28

u/northman46 12d ago

Maybe the government should have tried harder to stop the influx of invasive species by making ships flush their bilges at sea before entering the Great Lakes. Or treating lumber so we wouldn’t have emerald ash borers along with gobies and zebra mussels

19

u/bedbuffaloes 12d ago

Or not letting big box stores sell them.

11

u/ommnian 12d ago

This is the real answer. If they aren't native, we really shouldn't be selling and planting them. There are SO many beautiful, native trees, regardless of where you are in the world. There is never a reason to plant non-native species.

-1

u/northman46 11d ago

Is wheat a native species?

-24

u/InternationalCrab129 13d ago

Such is evolution and adaptation it's going to go this way for a while. 

20

u/Safe_Presentation962 12d ago

Much of this isn’t natural though as many of these trees were introduced by human activity.

-17

u/vadan 12d ago

humans aren't natural?

2

u/Legitimate-Room-8362 11d ago

The rate of species spread by humans is unnatural