1.9 billion invertebrates and 800 million seeds. That’s the number of stowaways arriving to Norway via garden plants every year. The costs could be sky high.

DNA analyses are becoming an increasingly important method in research and nature management. To meet an increased demand from government and industry, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) today opened NINAGEN, a national centre for conservation and biodiversity genetics in Trondheim.

This year, a major campaign is being launched in northwest Russia aimed at preventing the spread of alien species to Russian parts of the Arctic. Scientists fear that seeds, insects and parasites will establish themselves in the vulnerable northern regions, and ask travelers to take action.

Scientists have developed a new method to map and monitor alien species in the polar regions.