Patterns of plant pest introductions in Europe and Africa

Abstract

An analysis is made of the pattern of reported introductions of plant pests (insects, mites, fungi, bacteria and viruses) over the 20th century into Africa and Europe. Rates of reported introductions followed very different patterns between the continents, with European introductions rising over the century, while reported African introductions peaked mid-century and declined thereafter. This pattern is consistent with two quite different, but not mutually exclusive, hypotheses based on (1) continental differences in rates of arrival and establishment of new species and (2) differences in changing capacity to detect and identify new introductions. Patterns of pest taxa introduced, and crops affected, were broadly similar between continents. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.