diff --git a/src/core/qgslayerdefinition.cpp b/src/core/qgslayerdefinition.cpp
index b9e0ad01a6b..e9f2f74ec5f 100644
--- a/src/core/qgslayerdefinition.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgslayerdefinition.cpp
@@ -214,6 +214,11 @@ bool QgsLayerDefinition::exportLayerDefinition( QDomDocument doc, const QList<Qg
   QList<QgsLayerTreeLayer *> layers = root->findLayers();
   Q_FOREACH ( QgsLayerTreeLayer *layer, layers )
   {
+    if ( ! layer->layer() )
+    {
+      QgsDebugMsgLevel( QStringLiteral( "Not a valid map layer: skipping %1" ).arg( layer->name( ) ), 4 );
+      continue;
+    }
     QDomElement layerelm = doc.createElement( QStringLiteral( "maplayer" ) );
     layer->layer()->writeLayerXml( layerelm, doc, context );
     layerselm.appendChild( layerelm );