# UFZ pilot: 11 of 12 volunteer dog teams passed a field test for invasive plants in Germany

- Published: 2026-11-05 14:15 UTC
- Section: Planet › Ecology & recycling
- Tags: wildlife detection dogs, invasive alien species, volunteer dog-handler teams, early detection of invasive plants, Himalayan balsam, common ragweed, knotweed, UFZ, PLoS ONE, pilot study
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-5fe4f6a3d665ae2911689032_ufz_pilot_11/

**In a pilot study, 31 companion dogs and their owners were trained to find three invasive plant species; 11 of the 12 teams that reached the field test passed it.**

![UFZ pilot: 11 of 12 volunteer dog teams passed a field test for invasive plants in Germany](https://sgzwpqqelzmajkcubgkl.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/rt-media/2026/11/1cd46f3843ca9a0c.jpg)
*USFWSAlaska, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

A group led by Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ in Germany trained 31 companion dogs and their owners as volunteer wildlife detection dog teams for finding invasive alien plants. The study was published on November 4, 2026 in PLoS ONE; the training ran from 2021 to 2023. Of the 12 teams that took the final field test, 11 passed, with an average detection success rate of 75%, according to the authors [1].

The targets were the Fallopia spp. complex, Impatiens glandulifera and Ambrosia artemisiifolia. They were chosen for their prevalence and their impact on biodiversity, the economy and health. The program combined online dog training, practical seminars and field tests. The researchers recorded the sessions on video and used questionnaires to assess how social parameters, training procedures and environmental conditions affected the performance and stamina of each team in two cohorts [1].

## Training and completion

Online training was completed by 87.1% of participants, the practical seminar by 77.4%, and the final field test by 35.5%. Both cohorts were comparably fast and accurate online, but cohort 1 did better in the practical seminar. Performance during online training was mostly associated with social factors and reward types [1].

## What affected the results

In the practical seminar, the best results were obtained for larger plant parts. They were also better when participants had included all plant parts in their earlier training and were able to adapt the training plan slightly. The spontaneous generalisation rate from thawed to freshly laid-out plant parts was 56% [1].

Neither online nor seminar performance ultimately affected operational capability. Whether a team finished the program was determined by personal motivation [1].

The authors describe the project as one of the rare volunteer-based projects aimed at detecting invasive species in the field rather than in experiments. They conclude that volunteer teams can monitor efficiently, but that the intensive training must be carefully supervised by professional ecologists and dog trainers. From the feasibility study they also drew recommendations on volunteer selection and coordination, dog training and initial deployments for similar future projects [1].

## Sources

1. [PLoS ONE](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359003)
2. [EurekAlert](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1149595)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-5fe4f6a3d665ae2911689032_ufz_pilot_11/