Tecniche di lotta impiegabili nella gestione delle specie esotiche invasive

Control techniques for invasive species management – Effective management of invasive alien species can be achieved by applying several methods, which can be grouped in preventive, indirect and direct methods. Preventive meth- ods are aimed at avoiding the invasive species to colonize new areas by acting on spreading dynamics. They include rules and restrictions on good transfer from site to site. Indirect methods create environmental conditions that are unfavourable for the growth of the undesired species, mainly by stressing competition (e.g. in agriculture, by using cover crops) or reduc- ing the access to water, nutrients or light (e.g. mulching). Some activities currently implemented in urban road network maintenance, such as street sweeping, fall into this group. Directs methods are aimed at removing, destroying or severely damage the undesired plants. Several direct methods are available, and each of them has different advantages and draw- backs. Direct methods include mechanical, physical, biological and chemical control techniques. Chemical weed control is usually the most effective, but its adoption requires special care in sensitive areas (especially urban and natural areas) and need to strictly follow European, national and local regulations.