Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed found next to River Tees

Over the last few weeks, The Tees River Trust has been inspecting the banks of the North East river and found several of the dangerous plants in existence. 

As the seasons change and the weather gets colder, Tees River Trust is now raising awareness about invasive non-native species and the negative impacts they have on the environment the whole year round with their TOPHOG project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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As well as the damage to the environment, the Trust has warned of the damage to people if they come into contact with them, with giant hogweed sap on the skin causing blistering burns with the damage lasting for years.

Alongside the threat to people, the plans have started to cause slight erosion on the banks of the River Tees, with images released by the Trust showing the beginning of the erosion process.

So, what are the plans that the Trust have found?

Invasive non-native species (INNS) also known as invasive alien species (IAS), are species that are not native to the UK, they get brought over here either deliberately or accidentally, regardless of how they arrive, once established can have a lasting impact on our health, environment, and our economy.

Stems of both Giant Hogweed and Japanese Knotweed (Image: TEES RIVER TRUST)

One of the main ways they do this is taking over landscapes, outcompeting our native species and altering our natural environment.

Specifically, invasive non-native species such as giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed are all culprits of environmental degradation in the autumn and winter months.

These plants spend their growing periods taking over large areas of land, especially along the riverbanks.

Land slippage at the edge of the River Tees (Image: TEES RIVER TRUST)

As they die back over the winter, the plants leave the ground bare and more susceptible to erosion.

What have the Tees River Trust said about it?

Chloe Lawrence, project officer at Tees Rivers Trust, said: “Invasive species are not only harmful to the environment, but also impact individuals and groups who use the rivers.

The beginning of the erosion process at the River Tees (Image: TEES RIVER TRUST)

"With increased land slippage, people are more likely to fall into the river or injure themselves. Anglers on the River Tees have previously reported incidences of falling into the river due to ‘false banks’ created by an abundance of Himalayan balsam.

"It is so important to not only manage these invasive non-native species in the summer months but raise awareness about the other effects throughout the year so that people can be as safe as possible.”

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What could this mean for the River Tees?

With the impact of climate change, wetter and warmer winters mean that there is an increased risk of flooding.

This causes silt from the eroded banks to enter our waterways impacting fish spawns.

Plants such as Himalayan balsam and giant hogweed also have huge negative impacts on invertebrate feeding groups, resulting in a 75 per cent decrease in spider species, a 64 per cent decrease in beetle species and a 50 per cent decrease in bug species, which also has a knock-on effect on our native pollinators (CABI).