I guess most people just know best about what pests affect their area. Here in France, phylloxera is well known for having decimated our vines after having arrived from America (what saved the French wine industry was grafting our species on the roots of phylloxera-resistant but unpalatable American vines).

Same for the Argentinian ants that have founded the supercolony along the Mediterranean coast.

Also a disease of plane trees introduced in France/Europe from the US (WWII, I believe)

Here in the UK we also have a problem with american squirrels.

Whole Europe is invaded by grey squirrels. Also red-eared turtles and bullfrogs and probably many more species...

> phylloxera-resistant but unpalatable American vines

Hey now. You send me a palatable French wine and I'll send you a palatable American one =)

This is actually referring to different species of grapes, and has nothing to do with winemaking technique or prowess.

Virtually every type of "quality wine" that is consumed in the world comes from the old world species vitis vinifera. This includes basically every variety you've heard of: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot, just to name a few French varieties (but the same applies to Italian, Spanish, German, etc. wines). Any American winemakers making those kinds of wines (and I agree that many New World wines go toe-to-toe with the best France has to offer!) are using grape vines that were originally imported from Europe.

In addition, there are several species of grapes that are native to North America, the best known of which is probably the Concord grape. Unfortunately, due to their flavor profiles these species don't tend to be used for winemaking (one exception being Manischewitz and other sweet ritual wines). However, they have a natural resistance to phylloxera, which saved vitis vinifera from decimation and likely extinction through the grafting technique.

I did not know this.

However I would still like to exchange bottles with other fellow =)

American wines are made from European Vitis vinifera, grafted on the roots of American species just like in France.

Invasive species and their impact are relative to your area, of course.

Of equal interest is the use of non-native species to provide more genetic diversity. In Canada, we are using lots of 'Amur' trees and bushes from Russian and Northern China to increase diversity of our treestock after the huge diebacks caused by Dutch Elm, Emerald Ash Borer and other imported pests.

It wasn't that long ago when rich dudes used import species to North America to show off their love of Shakespeare.

See flock of starlings? Thank Eugene Schieffelin and his American Acclimatization Society.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Acclimatization_Socie...

One that concerns me in North America is the Pine Beetle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_pine_beetle) and its native, but affected by recent climate events.

The current infestation is actually causing the BC forests to be nearly a net carbon negative! (edit: to clarify I mean negative as in they're increasing the carbon output of the forests compared to the carbon sink. May be wording it wrong)

I think you got it right, forests are only carbon sinks as long as the trees are alive then they release their sequestered carbon as they rot. Typical tree dying is sporadic event and can be taken back up by other trees in a normal situation.

Here the tree death is not sporadic and there are not enough growing things to re-uptake the all the released carbon so it enters circulation.

Are you near Boston? I observed the same thing, winter moths destroying trees at an alarming rate until about 2 years ago. I wonder what changed.

Edit: Wow. https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/09/umass_amherst_scientis...