March 29th 2016

The Tree of Heaven: Suppress the Silent Invasion

To the Consejera de Medio Ambiente, Administracin Local y Ordenacin del

Territorio (Department of the Environment, Local Administration and Spatial
Planning) of the autonomous community of Madrid:

The environmental issues that we face are extremely varied in nature, but when
it comes to the publics attention and resource allocation, there is often a bias towards
tackling pollution issues. However, in the Autonomous Community of Madrid there
are serious threats to biodiversity posed by invasive exotic species. The Ailanthus
Altissima or tree of heaven is an invasive plant that threatens the viability of the
native species and it has already infested much of our autonomous community.
There is a need to address this problem through a combination of measures including
accurate reporting and documentation, public awareness and education and
eradication or control efforts. Around the world, the introduction of exotic species
into ecosystems to which they do not belong is an issue that endangers the natural
heritage and biodiversity of our planet. The United Nations recognized this and held
the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992, recognizing the conservation of this
diversity as being in humanitys common interest ("Text of the Convention").
The Ailanthus Altissima is a tree that has its origins in China, where it was
cultivated to feed silk worms. As of today, it has spread and become a problem for
ecosystems in every continent except Antarctica (Kowarik and Sumel, 2007). It was
originally introduced in Spain by gardeners and landscapers, but contractors soon took
the importing initiative for projects such as roads or railroads since it is a species that
grows very fast, is extremely resistant and easily sprouts and spreads ("Ailanto o
rbol del Cielo"). Lack of public awareness of the dangers that alien species can pose
to our autochthonous ecosystems facilitated its rapid proliferation. It is an invasive
plant that can primarily be found in locations where the terrain has been disturbed,
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such as the sides of roads, railroads, abandoned urban plots or degraded fields
(Kowarik and Sumel, 2007).
Its great invasive potential comes from a series of its characteristics. The
Ailanthus Altissima has a great capacity to colonize degraded terrain as a result of its
high tolerance for poor soil conditions as well as poor air quality (Vil and Banou). It
is a highly resistant species that, once established, is extremely hard to completely
eradicate because it prevails even after it has been chopped down, burned or
undergone chemical treatment ("Ailanthus Altissima"). The Ailanthus Altissima is a
tremendous invader. It is highly tolerant to poor drainage, drought, alkalinity, salinity
and transplantation. This, combined with their rapid growth rate, makes it hard for
most autochthonous plants to compete (Kuhns and Rupp). The Ailanthus reproduces
both sexually and asexually, through pollination and spreading from suckers (Vil and
Banou). Up to 350000 seeds per year are dispersed from a single specimen mainly by
the wind. Also, suckers can sprout up to fifteen meters away from the mother tree
(Sanz Elorza, Dana Sanchez and Sobrino Vesperinas).
The Ailanthus Altissima is not only a great invader due to its high tolerance to
adverse conditions and its fast growth and reproduction rates. It also has ailanthone, a
biochemical that stops other species from growing around it (Vil and Banou). This
allelopathic substance forces these other species out, inhibiting their development
(Ailanto o rbol del Cielo). According to Monserrat Vila, an investigator from the
biological station in the Doana National Park that participates in DAISIE (Delivering
Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe), the diversity of species is extremely
low where there is Ailanthus Altissima pressence (Prudencio). As well as its threats to
the surrounding ecosystem, the Ailanthus Altissima presents a serious menace to
infrastructure in close proximity to it. The Ailanthus Altissima has an incredibly
vigorous root system and grows very fast through cracks and even pipelines,
potentially causing damage to infrastructure (City Urges Residents).
Cape Town, in South Africa, recognized that the suburbs of their town were
suffering from a plague of Ailanthus Altissima with 200 records of the tree, which
they realized was causing damage to their local ecosystem and their infrastructure
(City Urges Residents). Madrid has no less of an invasion problem, as just by being
able to recognize the trees characteristic leaves and foul smell it is easy to spot them
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all around the community. With Madrid being the European town with the most trees
and only lagging behind Tokyo on the global scale, it is imperative that we protect the
biodiversity of our city and the autonomous community in which it is in. The lack of
information and public ignorance on the topic is an enormous barrier to stopping this
invasion. Up until 2014, the most popular cost data base for construction materials
(private data base made by the Technical Office of the Association of Surveyors,
Technical Architects and Building Engineers of Guadalajara) included the Ailanthus
Altissima as one of its offered products. Instances of generalized unawareness like this
have made the public and the administration blind to this biological invasion. It is
unacceptable that a search for Ailanthus Altissima in the Consejera de Medio
Ambientes website does not return any results. In fact, the only mention to the
Ailanthus Altissima in the Autonomous Communitys main website is as the name of a
street, a fashion design company, in old base price catalogues and in the information
for youth section (inforjoven). In this section it is mentioned in the description of two
hikes. One, around the El Pardo mount, details a part infested with Ailanthus
Altissima, describing it as an invasive tree ("El Monte De El Pardo"). The other, a
hike around the copses of Villamanrique de Tajo, mentions how it is an invasive
species found in abandoned plots around the village ("Los Sotos De Villamanrique).
The Ailanthus Altissima invasion poses an issue of great concern to our natural
heritage. DAISIE classified it as one of the hundred worst biological invaders in the
continent ("100 of The Worst.") and according to the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), biological invasions are the second most influential
cause for the extinction of species in the World (Decreto 213/2009). In Spain, the
invasion is most prominent in Catalonia and Valencia ("Ailanthus Altissima"),
however, in Madrid there is a significant presence and the Spanish Catalogue of
Exotic Invasive Species shows further potential distribution in our Autonomous
Community ("Ailanthus Altissima"). The Consejera de Medio Ambiente cannot
simply ignore the considerable presence of this exotic invasive species in its
jurisdiction and make no significant effort to obtain data on the scale of the invasion to
take measures for its control. Due to the high rate of expansion of the Ailanthus
Altissimas population, it is reasonable to assume that the difficulty of controlling this
invasion will probably increase with time. Therefore, there is a pressing need to make

the control of the Ailanthus Altissima invasion one of your environmental preservation
objectives.
In 1993 Spain ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity, a UN treaty that
recognized the intrinsic value of biological diversity ("Text of the Convention").
Several nation-wide legislating efforts have followed since then, but the failure to put
their measures into effect across the Spanish territory is apparent in the lack of public
involvement and knowledge of the issues regarding biodiversity. The severity of the
proliferation of invasive exotic species, such as the Ailanthus Altissima, are generally
unknown to most, who mainly detect similar problems only when they are evident to
the untrained eye (for example the proliferation of the Monk Parakeet in Madrid about
which we now often hear some complaints about in our social circles).
The ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity is a great first step
that signified an acceptance of our countrys responsibility to conserve the biological
diversity of our ecosystems. The central government took action and their efforts lead
to the Law 42/2007 on December 13 on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity (Law
42/2007 from here on), which most importantly established in its 61 st article the
development of a Spanish Catalogue of Exotic Invasive Species (Ley 42/2007). The
Spanish Catalogue of Exotic Invasive Species (the Catalogue from here on), was
created and regulated by the Royal Decree 630/2013 extended by the Council of
Ministers (Real Decreto 630/2013). These steps taken by the central government
need follow up at a local scale to achieve their full potential. In fact, it is not only the
civic responsibility of the environmental departments of autonomous communities
like you to fight to exterminate invasive exotic species like the Ailanthus Altissima,
but it is also specified in sections 61.5 and 61.6 of the Law 42/2007 that autonomous
communities with the Ministry of Agriculture, Alimentation and the Environment
(Ministry of the Environment from here on), will make plans to manage, control and
possibly eradicate species that are included in the Catalogue. Currently, the
Autonomous Community of Madrid is not engaging enough resources, if any, to the
application of this regulation, leaving the issue in hands of groups with little media
presence and limited impact potential. So far, one of the only groups attempting to
protect autochthonous trees and other plants from the Ailanthus Altissima is WWF
Spain that in 2012 started a series of actions to replace the invasive and fast-spreading

Ailanthus Altissima with local species to preserve the areas biodiversity ("Los
Voluntarios Reemplazan").
It is now the turn of our Autonomous Community to take the EU and the
Spanish governments regulatory efforts and turn them into concrete actions here in
your jurisdiction. It is currently an arduous and almost impossible task to find good
quality information about the Ailanthus Altissima in Madrid, with practically no
specific information of the location of most specimens or any detailed investigation on
its effects on the local ecosystem. However, the species has been recognized as a
threat in places around the world such as the United States, South Africa, Australia,
Europe and Latin America (Sanz Elorza, Dana Sanchez and Sobrino Vesperinas).
Also, the Convention on Biodiversity of 1992 specified that whenever there was a
threat to biological diversity, an allegation of a lack of sufficiently conclusive
scientific evidence should not be used as an excuse to not tackle the problem ("Text of
the Convention"). Therefore, Madrid should act now to avoid further proliferation of
the Ailanthus Altissima. A failure to do this could make the problem reach the level of
other autonomous communities such as Catalonia, where the problem is currently the
most serious in our country ("Ailanthus Altissima").
There is a need for accurate and specific documentation of the problem,
education of the general public on biodiversity threats and protection, and an effort
to control or eradicate the Ailanthus Altissima. The Consejera de Medio Ambiente
of Madrid has to focus their efforts on several aspects in order to tackle the problem
successfully: Develop networks to locate and alert people to the presence and impact
of the Ailanthus Altissima, expand existing and organize new eradication campaigns
across the autonomous community, and finally create programs that increase both
social awareness as well as citizen participation in solving the issue.
First of all, there is a pressing need to define exactly the dimensions of a
problem that is apparent for anyone that can detect the presence of the Ailanthus
Altissima. The invasive species grows at the sides of many highways and abandoned
construction sites across the autonomous community and quickly invades areas in
which the land has been moved around, something that is easy to corroborate just by
qualitative observation of the territories of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
The Consejera de Medio Ambiente should follow the example of other autonomous
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communities such as Andaluca of Murcia that have put forward projects to control
and document the expansion of invasive species in their territories. These are based
on creating networks of early warning systems, combining efforts from the
authorities and the general public to locate new sources of invasion in a certain
territory. They currently follow the plan set forward by the Ministry of the
Environment which is focused on Natural Reserves (Perales Rodriguez), but this
model could be easily applied to a wider variety of settings.
In Murcia, the Consejera de Agua, Agricultura y Medio Ambiente (the
equivalent institution to Madrids Consejera de Medio Ambiente in the southern
autonomous community) is in the process of creating a network for early warning
focused on detecting invasive exotic species in a specific area (Proyecto LIFE). The
project is based on public participation to a significant extent, something that is in fact
promoted in Article 4 of Law 42/2007, which states in its fourth section that the local
authorities will advocate for the participation of civil society in efforts to protect the
biodiversity of our ecosystems.
The project is being partially funded by the European commission as it forms
part of the program LIFE + that works on Biodiversity, and in their case is focused on
the Segura River and its surroundings (Proyecto LIFE). They will be creating an app
for mobile devices that uses geolocation so that users can help identify invasive
species in the area of interest (Gonzalez). This initiative is not only an invaluable tool
to gain information on the proportions of problem that the Ailanthus Altissima poses
to our local ecosystem, but it also engages the general public, reducing the cost of
investigation as well as increasing awareness of the potential dangers of invasive
exotic species. The LIFE Ripsilvanatura project in Murcia is very promising and its
processes can be applied in Madrid as well with slight generalizations and adaptations
to fit our specific issues. In fact, the first actions that it proposes are some that Madrid
is in desperate need of, including the gathering and organization of existing
information and initial evaluation of the situation regarding the Ailanthus Altissima
(there is barely no easily accessible and complete information on the issue). There are
certainly several adjustments that need to be made since the project in Madrid would
be extended to a greater geographical area but its scope would also be reduced initially
to focus on the Ailanthus Altissima. Another example of an initiative like this can be
found in Cape Town and their Early Detection and Rapid Response Project (EDRR).
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This project is based on the recognition that the difficulty of achieving eradication
when the invasion reaches large proportions increases exponentially ("Cape Town's
Early Detection")The city has made huge efforts to eradicate the ailanthus altissima
and urges citizens to report sightings to send their Invasive Species Unit as soon as
possible (City Urges Residents).
This initiative would essentially consist of sending professionals to
investigate the situation and providing a channel through which the public can
report sightings. This has been done in Cape Town and the listed sightings are in the
public domain. Of course, for this to work there would have to be simultaneous action
taken to educate citizens to be able to spot the Ailanthus Altissima.
While the project in Murcia focuses on taking inventory and increasing public
awareness (Proyecto LIFE), in Andaluca there are also significant eradication
efforts ("Ailanto o rbol del Cielo "). Given that their project focuses on numerous
species and the incredibly rapid expansion and large distribution of the Ailanthus
Altissima, the eradication efforts have been focused on specific areas ("Ailanto o
rbol del Cielo"). However, in Madrid, a project focusing only on the Ailanthus could
have a larger impact in the eradication of the invasive plant. It has been deemed nearly
impossible to eradicate biological invasions, and especially in cases like the Ailanthus,
and thus a reduction of the species and its control seems to be the best alternative
(Mack and Foster). Madrid should employ professionals to follow procedure similar to
the one Andaluca has been using to reduce the presence of the plant as much as
possible and keep a close control on its expansion.

Combining chemical and

mechanical treatment seems to be the best way to obtain impactful results, since only
cutting the Ailanthus Altissima is ineffective in avoiding its proliferation (Ailanto o
rbol del Cielo).
Education remains the pillar of our society and the origin of most of our
successes and failures. One of the biggest issues regarding the damage of invasive
species to our ecosystems is the generalized ignorance on the topic. To maximize the
impact of this project in Madrid, there has to be a large focus on what the project in
Murcia denominates as Actions of Communication and Dissemination, focusing on
outreach to the public and education (Proyecto LIFE). These include the creation
and introduction of materials explaining the importance of biodiversity and the
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conservation of our natural heritage into schools as well as campaigns that increase
awareness in the media and through advertising (Proyecto LIFE). There are, in fact,
materials out there that already attempt to do this, like WWF and their project in
Madrid focused on raising awareness of the dangers regarding invasive exotic species.
It provides pedagogic materials and welcomes schools to use it to educate their
students in the topic, teaching how to fight against the introduction of alien invasive
species and protect biodiversity (Moreno). The Madrid autonomous community
government just needs to publicize the issue to make people realize its importance and
then offer access to these educational resources. If you developed awareness
campaigns to make the public realize the danger of these species and then provided
them with resources to learn about how to remove them and correctly dispose of them,
much of the eradication and control effort would probably be undertaken by
concerned citizens. There is an urgent need to educate the population about the
danger of introducing invasive species in our ecosystems and how to deal with
them. Currently, the main problem is peoples lack of knowledge regarding the effect
of the ailanthus altissima on the rest of the autochthonous ecosystem. Most people
ignore how damaging the species is and many have never heard about it or would be
able to recognize it. So to be successful in an eradication attempt, it is crucial to keep
in mind that The most often overlooked requirement is the need for public support
for the project of eradication (Mack & Forster). Despite the elaboration of catalogues
listing invasive species and possible approaches to eradicate them or reduce their
presence and impact that have been made by several organisms (DAISIE, The Spanish
Catalogue, etc.), public ignorance on the significance of biodiversity threats are the
main reason that the problem still has not been successfully tackled. If citizens learned
to care for biodiversity as part of their civic duty, the control and even eradication of
the ailanthus altissima would be a plausible objective.
Overall, in Madrid there is a need for a comprehensive plan against the
Ailanthus Altissima invasion. Some of the resources that the Environmental
department has should be allocated to this plan. Firstly, a system to report sightings
and education on the dangers and characteristics of the Ailanthus Altissima so people
can recognize it should be implemented. Through significant eradication programs led
by the government that would attract media attention, citizens would learn about the
problems that some of these exotic species pose to our ecosystems. This would reduce
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chances of new species being released into our local habitats and also would teach
citizens to take action themselves and help in stopping the spread of the ailanthus
altissima. To promote these practices, the Consejera de Medio Ambiente should start
divulgation campaigns and develop specific protocols for citizens to deal with the
Ailanthus Altissima in each specific stage of the invasion process (As it is easier to
remove the invasion in the early stages). Finally, on top of organizing specific
eradication efforts, providing basic training to employees that take care of the trees
and parks and requiring them to remove the Ailanthus Altissima from the streets and
even private properties when the owners asked for their intervention would certainly
be beneficial to our natural heritage. Through media coverage and an appeal to civic
duties, this could be turned into a civic activity that many citizens would be very
likely to happily engage in.
These policies would not only help reduce the disastrous environmental impact
of the Ailanthus Altissima in the autochthonous ecosystem and its structural damage
of our infrastructure, but it would be a pioneering comprehensive approach that would
influence the public attitude on invading species throughout the nation. Through
education and the administrations active role in working towards the partial
eradication and control of the Ailanthus Altissima, the threat of exotic invading
species would become a known issue. It would promote that citizens took an active
role in fighting these threats as well as providing them with a more mindful and
analytical attitude when making decisions that could have terrible impacts on a native
ecosystem. Due to the current lack of information and knowledge on the issues
regarding invasive species, there is a widespread attitude consisting of protecting these
invasive species against eradication efforts. It is common to encounter appalled looks
and even confrontation from others when engaging in the removal of species like the
Ailanthus Altissima. If the public was educated in these issues, then there would be a
larger concern for problems that right now are invisible to most. This would have an
impact in extending the eradication and control efforts to other regions and benefit
many communities and ecosystems.
Invasions from exotic species are a problem that is much easier to tackle when
it is first arising, so in the long run it would be beneficial and economically sound to
establish a system in which these issues were detected soon and action was taken right
away. If this project was put in place in Madrid, it could be the precedent for many
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similar ones concerning other invasions like that of the Monk Parakeet. If people
started thinking about our natural heritage and the practice of getting involved in
detecting and reporting sightings became widespread, then it would be much easier to
implement new projects or expand this one in the future. We all have a responsibility
to care for our ecosystems and a responsibility to protect for the autochthonous
species that make our natural heritage unique. Do not ignore the problem until it is one
of incontrollable dimensions, start protecting our local species now and make the
protection of biodiversity an issue of public concern.
WORKS CITED

"100 of the Worst." DAISIE. Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe. Web.
30 Mar. 2016.
"Ailanthus Altissima (Mill.) Swingle." Catlogo Espaol De Especies Exticas Invasoras.
Ministerio De Agricultura, Alimentacin Y Medio Ambiente. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"Ailanto o rbol Del Cielo." Consejera De Medio Ambiente Y Ordenacin Del Territorio.
Junta De Andaluca. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"Cape Town's Early Detection and Rapid Response." Cape Town Invasives. Web. 30 Mar.
2016.
"City Urges Residents to Report Invasive Tree of Heaven." City of Cape Town. City of Cape
Town, 15 Feb. 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Decreto 213/2009, de 20 de noviembre, del Consell, por el que se aprueban medidas para el
control de especies exticas invasoras en la Comunitat Valenciana. Diari Oficial de
la Comunitat Valenciana, 6151. 24 Nov. 2009. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"El Monte De El Pardo." Inforjoven. Comunidad De Madrid. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Gonzalez, Ana. "A La Caza De Las Especies Invasoras." Medio Ambiente. Cadena Ser, 13
Mar. 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
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Kowarik, Ingo, and Ina Sumel. "Biological Flora of Central Europe: Ailanthus Altissima
(Mill.) Swingle." Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 8.4
(2007): 207-37. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Kuhns, Mike, and Larry Rupp. "Selecting and Planting Landscape Trees." Utah State
University Cooperative Extension (2000). USU Extension, July 2000. Web. 31 Mar.
2016.
Ley 42/2007, de 13 de diciembre de Patrimonio Natural y de la Biodiversidad. Boletn
Oficial del Estado, 299, 15 Dec. 2007. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"LIFE Ripasilvanatura." LIFE RIPISILVANATURA (LIFE13 BIO/ES/1407). Confederacin
Hidrogrfica del Segura. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"Los Sotos De Villamanrique De Tajo." Inforjoven. Comunidad De Madrid. Web. 31 Mar.
2016.
"Los Voluntarios Reemplazan Plantas Invasoras Por rboles Autctonos En Madrid." WWF
Espaa. WWF, 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Mack, Richard N., and Sara K. Foster. "Eradicating Plant Invaders: Combining EcologicallyBased Tactics and Broad-Sense Strategy." Management of Invasive Weeds (2009): 3560. Springer Link. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Mergen, Francois. "A Toxic Principle in the Leaves of Ailanthus." Botanical Gazette 121.1
(1959): 32-36. JSTOR. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

Moreno, Laura. "Educacin Ambiental Frente a Las Especies Invasoras." WWF Espaa.
WWF. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Perales Rodriguez, Juan. "Plan De Impulso Al Medio Ambiente Para La Adaptacin Al
Cambio Climtico En Espaa. Acciones En La Red De Parques Nacionales." Red De
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Parques Nacionales. Ministerio De Agricultura, Alimentacin Y Medio Ambiente.

Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Prudencio, Guillermo. "La Exitosa Invasin Del Arbol Del Cielo." Biodiversidad, Sabas
Que...? CREAF Research Center, 29 Nov. 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Real Decreto 630/2013, de 2 de Agosto, por el que se regula el Catlogo espaol de especies
invasoras. Boletn Oficial del Estado, 185,3 Aug. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Sanz Elorza, Mario, Elias D. Dana Sanchez, and Eduardo Sobrino Vesperinas. Ailanthus
altissima (Mill.) Swingle. Atlas De Las Plantas Aloctonas Invasoras En Espana.
Madrid: Ministerio De Medio Ambiente, 2005. Print.
"Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity." Convention on Biological Diversity. United
Nations, 1992. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Vil, Monserrat, and Corina Banou. "Species Factsheet: Ailanthus Altissima." DAISIE.
Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe, 1 Dec. 2006. Web. 30 Mar.
2016.

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