Index of Alien Impact: A Method for Evaluating Potential Ecological Impact of Alien Plant Species

Magee, Teresa K.; Ringold, Paul L.; Bollman, Michael A.; Ernst, Ted L.

doi:10.1007/s00267-010-9426-1

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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Section: Box 2 Priorities For Research On Invasive Alien Trees and Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Objective measures are needed for assessing the impacts of different invasive species in a range of habitats to assist in the objective prioritization of species and areas for management (Magee et al, 2010). Because woody invasions are becoming Another factor that must be taken into account is the rapidly changing global market for products from trees and shrubs, including new uses.…”

Section: Mapping and Assessing Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species – a global review

Richardson

Rejmánek

2011

Diversity and Distributions

941

696

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Aim Woody plants were not widely considered to be important invasive alien species until fairly recently. Thousands of species of trees and shrubs have, however, been moved around the world. Many species have spread from planting sites, and some are now among the most widespread and damaging of invasive organisms. This article presents a global list of invasive alien trees and shrubs. It discusses taxonomic biases, geographical patterns, modes of dispersal, reasons for introductions and key issues regarding invasions of non‐native woody plants around the world. Location Global. Methods An exhaustive survey was made of regional and national databases and the literature. Correspondence with botanists and ecologists and our own observations in many parts of the world expanded the list. Presence of invasive species was determined for each of 15 broad geographical regions. The main reasons for introduction and dissemination were determined for each species. Results The list comprises 622 species (357 trees, 265 shrubs in 29 plant orders, 78 families, 286 genera). Regions with the largest number of woody invasive alien species are: Australia (183); southern Africa (170); North America (163); Pacific Islands (147); and New Zealand (107). Species introduced for horticulture dominated the list (62% of species: 196 trees and 187 shrubs). The next most important reasons for introduction and dissemination were forestry (13%), food (10%) and agroforestry (7%). Three hundred and twenty‐three species (52%) are currently known to be invasive in only one region, and another 126 (20%) occur in only two regions. Only 38 species (6%) are very widespread (invasive in six or more regions). Over 40% of invasive tree species and over 60% of invasive shrub species are bird dispersed. Main conclusions Only between 0.5% and 0.7% of the world’s tree and shrub species are currently invasive outside their natural range, but woody plant invasions are rapidly increasing in importance around the world. The objectively compiled list of invasive species presented here provides a snapshot of the current dimensions of the phenomenon and will be useful for screening new introductions for invasive potential.

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Section: Box 2 Priorities For Research On Invasive Alien Trees and Shmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mapping and Assessing Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species – a global review

Richardson

Rejmánek

2011

Diversity and Distributions

941

696

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“…, 2011). If the range of traits seen in the group is applied to a recent scheme to assess the impacts of plant invasions (Magee et al. , 2010), all taxa are found to have aggressive invasiveness‐impact with the vast majority deemed extreme invasiveness‐impact (Table 3).…”

Section: Approaches To Reducing the Invasion Risk Of Australian Acaciasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many Australian acacias, when invasive, have the potential to rapidly transform ecosystems by fixing nitrogen, changing fire regimes and altering community dynamics . If the range of traits seen in the group is applied to a recent scheme to assess the impacts of plant invasions (Magee et al, 2010), all taxa are found to have aggressive invasiveness-impact with the vast majority deemed extreme invasiveness-impact (Table 3) (Marchante et al, 2008). Restoration efforts must take the impact on ecosystems and ecosystem services into account to increase chances of success .…”

Section: Managing Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk assessment, eradication, and biological control: global efforts to limit Australian acacia invasions

Wilson

Gairifo

Gibson

et al. 2011

Diversity and Distributions

168

154

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Aim Many Australian Acacia species have been planted around the world, some are highly valued, some are invasive, and some are both highly valued and invasive. We review global efforts to minimize the risk and limit the impact of invasions in this widely used plant group.Location Global.Methods Using information from literature sources, knowledge and experience of the authors, and the responses from a questionnaire sent to experts around the world, we reviewed: (1) a generalized life cycle of Australian acacias and how to control each life stage, (2) different management approaches and (3) what is required to help limit or prevent invasions.Results Relatively few Australian acacias have been introduced in large numbers, but all species with a long and extensive history of planting have become invasive somewhere. Australian acacias, as a group, have a high risk of becoming invasive and causing significant impacts as determined by existing assessment schemes. Moreover, in most situations, long-lived seed banks mean it is very difficult to control established infestations. Control has focused almost exclusively on widespread invaders, and eradication has rarely been attempted. Classical biological control is being used in South Africa with increasing success.Main conclusions A greater emphasis on pro-active rather than reactive management is required given the difficulties managing established invasions of Australian acacias. Adverse effects of proposed new introductions can be minimized by conducting detailed risk assessments in advance, planning for on-going monitoring and management, and ensuring resources are in place for long-term mitigation. Benign alternatives (e.g. sterile hybrids) could be developed to replace existing utilized taxa. Eradication should be set as a management goal more often to reduce the invasion debt. Introducing classical biological control agents that have a successful track-record in South Africa to other regions and identifying new agents (notably vegetative feeders) can help mitigate existing widespread invasions. Trans-boundary sharing of information will assist efforts to limit future invasions, in particular, management strategies need to be better evaluated, monitored, published and publicised so that global best-practice procedures can be developed.

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“…Furthermore, impact can be defined in various ways , for example as species loss due to invaders (Hejda et al 2009), changes in ecosystem functions (Ehrenfeld 2010;Gutiérrez et al 2014), or economic costs for eradication of non-natives (Pimentel et al 2000). To identify potentially harmful species, researchers as well as practitioners have made great efforts to disentangle mechanisms of invasion (e.g., Rejmánek and Richardson 1996;Lockwood et al 2013), predict invasions (e.g., Kolar and Lodge 2001;van Kleunen et al 2010), and assess their potential impacts (e.g., Magee et al 2010;Dana et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Setting Priorities for Monitoring and Managing Non-native Plants: Toward a Practical Approach

Koch

Jeschke

Overbeck

et al. 2016

Environmental Management

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Land managers face the challenge to set priorities in monitoring and managing non-native plant species, as resources are limited and not all non-natives become invasive. Existing frameworks that have been proposed to rank non-native species require extensive information on their distribution, abundance, and impact. This information is difficult to obtain and often not available for many species and regions. National watch or priority lists are helpful, but it is questionable whether they provide sufficient information for environmental management on a regional scale. We therefore propose a decision tree that ranks species based on more simple albeit robust information, but still provides reliable management recommendations. To test the decision tree, we collected and evaluated distribution data from non-native plants in highland grasslands of Southern Brazil. We compared the results with a national list from the Brazilian Invasive Species Database for the state to discuss advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches on a regional scale. Out of 38 non-native species found, only four were also present on the national list. If management would solely rely on this list, many species that were identified as spreading based on the decision tree would go unnoticed. With the suggested scheme, it is possible to assign species to active management, to monitoring, or further evaluation. While national lists are certainly important, management on a regional scale should employ additional tools that adequately consider the actual risk of non-natives to become invasive.

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Index of Alien Impact: A Method for Evaluating Potential Ecological Impact of Alien Plant Species

Cited by 18 publications

References 77 publications

Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species – a global review

Trees and shrubs as invasive alien species – a global review

Risk assessment, eradication, and biological control: global efforts to limit Australian acacia invasions

Setting Priorities for Monitoring and Managing Non-native Plants: Toward a Practical Approach

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