Heath star moss (Campylopus introflexus) is an alien species in Sweden and is currently classified as composing a "very high risk? of becoming invasive in the country according to SLU, and has in several parts of the world taken over large areas in a short time. The moss is characterized by its preference for disturbed and burned land, something that occurs on the heathland in the Sandsj?backa nature reserve, when burning for nature conservation purposes is carried out annually. Sandsj?backa's heathland is a valuable ecosystem and is one of the few heathlands in a favorable condition that remains in Sweden after strong reforms in modern agriculture in the last century, which led to forest succession of these cultural environments.

Over the past 40 years 600 000 ha of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia (Engelm.) Critchf.) has been planted in Sweden (280 000 ha on SCA's forest land alone which represents about 15% of the company's total forest land area). In the early 70's SCA situated a number of experimental stands in order to investigate different aspects of the exotic tree, primarily growth rate. To be able to compare the two species plots with scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), this species was also planted at the same time and under the same conditions. A number of questions should always be raised when exotic species are introduced in an ecosystem. Invasiveness, the pathogen situation and purely ethical issues should be discussed.