Environmental Weeds

An environmental weed is a plant outside its normal geographic range which can have a detrimental effect on natural ecosystems by aggressively invading native vegetation.

The number of known environmental weed species in the Wet Tropics region has grown rapidly over the past 50 years to over 500 species and their spread is increasing alarmingly (about 200 new weed species have been identified in the past decade). The majority of plant species which have become weeds have been intentionally introduced into the region for agricultural, horticultural or domestic purposes.

Download a list of over 500 known weed species in the Wet Tropics (2007).

Weeds are generally associated with disturbed areas of ecosystems, although some may invade intact ecosystems. Many are highly invasive and can reproduce and spread rapidly in the absence of any natural controls. Weeds may disrupt ecosystems, compete with and replace native plants, reduce food and shelter for native species, change fire regimes and create soil erosion. Those weeds that can invade or transform pristine habitat are particularly threatening to the biodiversity of the WHA.

More information

• The Biosecurity Queensland website has a plethora of information about environmental weeds and their impacts.
• The Biosecurity Queensland website has an A-Z listing of declared and significant weeds in Queensland, including photos, common names and scientific names.
• The Biosecurity Queensland website has a series of fact sheets focusing on agricultural and pastoral weeds.
• A complete list of target weeds is available from the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy.
• See the weed identification and weed control pages for further information.