Original title: Global threats from invasive alien species in the twenty-first century and national response capacities
Invasive alien species are plants or animals that arrive in places where they are not native and threaten nature or people’s livelihoods. Global trade and travel help them arrive, while environmental change, including climate change, can help them settle. The researchers map land at risk and compare countries’ ability to prevent and manage invasions. They find that one-sixth of global land is highly vulnerable, and that most countries have limited response capacity.
Imagine trying to keep unwanted plants out of a garden. Seeds can arrive in bags of soil or be carried in on shoes, and some conditions make them more likely to take root. In this paper, the routes into the garden stand for ways species arrive, while the conditions that help seeds take root stand for environmental changes that help them establish. Mapping both helps show where prevention matters most.
Invasive species can harm people’s livelihoods and biodiversity. Knowing where the risk is high—and whether the main pathway is imports or air travel—can help governments focus prevention and early responses, especially in poorer areas rich in wildlife.
The abstract reports a global analysis of terrestrial threats and national response capacities. It does not specify how vulnerability or capacity was measured, give country-level results, or show whether the proposed use of combined data improves real-world prevention or eradication.
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Global threats from invasive alien species in the twenty-first century and national response capacities — Regan Early, Bethany A. Bradley, Jeffrey S. Dukes et al. — Nature Communications — doi:10.1038/ncomms12485
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.