The potato rose known as the Adolf Hitler rose is spreading more and more along the German North Sea coast. This is a problem for the ecosystem and coastal protection.
Cuxhaven – It shines in rich pink and is therefore beautiful to look at: the potato rose. Due to its ability to spread rapidly, it was used during World War II to overgrow the bunkers on German beaches in order to hide them from Allied eyes. This earned her the name Adolf Hitler Rose.
But the nickname is not the only problematic thing about the plant. The plant has now spread along almost the entire German coast, the North and Baltic Seas, threatening native plant species and making the dikes unstable. The Ministry of the Environment is also fighting against the invasive species in parts of Lower Saxony.
Adolf Hitler rose spreads along the North Sea coast: “It doesn’t just represent ecological problems”
“The potato rose originally comes from East Asia. It was introduced into Europe as an ornamental shrub and thus came to Lower Saxony,” explains Fabian Buß, press spokesman for the Lower Saxony State Agency for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation (NLWKN). kreiszeitung.de.
“The potato rose is in all parts Lower Saxony established. This is particularly true for all East Frisian Islands and partly also the mainland coast, such as Schillig or the area around the city of Cuxhaven. It is already very widespread on the East Frisian Islands as an invasive neophyte and sometimes forms large-scale dominant populations, some of which have reached landscape-defining proportions,” says Buß.
This also weakens the dune’s resistance to storm surge loads.
This is a big problem because: While the rose was initially planted on a large scale because of its supposed stabilizing properties in dunes, it is now displacing native species that are much better suited for dike protection. “Potato roses not only pose ecological problems on protective dunes, but also weaken the dune’s ability to defend itself against storm surges,” says Buß.
The roots of potato roses would not provide stability in protective dunes or dikes, but would compromise security against water erosion, wind erosion and burrowing animals. In addition, it turned out that the populations of the potato rose have a significantly lower species diversity than the natural forms of vegetation.
Potato rose is spreading in Lower Saxony: Fighting it is difficult
The NLWKN is trying to push back the plants where they spread on protective dunes, says Buß. After damage and corresponding restoration work, marram grass and/or beach rye would first be planted. However, the control measures within the scope of species protection would only take place sporadically and selectively due to the complex nature of the fight.
“The difficulties in combating the potato rose lie in the size of the populations, the resistance, the growth dynamics and the difficult handling,” says Buß. The plant’s high regeneration and propagation potential would make countermeasures very complex and lengthy. “Due to the presence of the species in the area, it can quickly re-enter the areas even after successful control.”
Lower Saxony has even more strange growths, although not so problematic ones: This is what it says only witch tree avenue in the world in Lower Saxony. And one thousand-year-old plant is a special landmark in the state.
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