How well do we understand the impacts of alien species on ecosystem services? A pan-European, cross-taxa assessment

Montserrat Vilà, Corina Basnou, Petr Pyšek, Melanie Josefsson, Piero Genovesi, Stephan Gollasch, Wolfgang Nentwig, Sergej Olenin, Alain Roques, David Roy, Philip E. Hulme, Pavlos Andriopoulos, Margarita Arianoutsou, Ioannis Bazos, Ioannis Kokkoris, Artemios Yannitsaros, Andreas Zikos, Sylvie Augustin, Pierre Olivier Cochard, Carlos Lopez-VaamondeDaniel Sauvard, Annie Yart, Sven Bacher, François Bretagnolle, Jacques Gasquez, François Chiron, Salit Kark, Susan Shirley, Philippe Clergeau, Christian Cocquempot, Armelle Coeur d’Acier, Franck Dorkeld, Alain Migeon, Maria Navajas, Matej David, Pinelopi Delipetrou, Kyriakos Georghiou, Marie Laure Desprez-Loustau, Viktoras Didziulis, Franz Essl, Wolfgang Rabitsch, Martin Hejda, Vojtech Jarosik, Jan Pergl, Irena Perglová, Ingolf Kühn, Marten Winter, Philip W. Kühn, Arnald Marcer, Joan Pino, Mathew McLoughlin, Dan Minchin, Vadim E. Panov, Michel Pascal, Katja Poboljsaj, Riccardo Scalera, Ondrej Sedlácek, Pierre Zagatti

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleResearchpeer-review

795 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent comprehensive data provided through the DAISIE project (www.europe-aliens.org) have facilitated the development of the first pan-European assessment of the impacts of alien plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine environments - on ecosystem services. There are 1094 species with documented ecological impacts and 1347 with economic impacts. The two taxonomic groups with the most species causing impacts are terrestrial invertebrates and terrestrial plants. The North Sea is the maritime region that suffers the most impacts. Across taxa and regions, ecological and economic impacts are highly correlated. Terrestrial invertebrates create greater economic impacts than ecological impacts, while the reverse is true for terrestrial plants. Alien species from all taxonomie groups affect "supporting", "provisioning", "regulating", and "cultural" services and interfere with human well-being. Terrestrial vertebrates are responsible for the greatest range of impacts, and these are widely distributed across Europe. Here, we present a review of the financial costs, as the first step toward calculating an estimate of the economic consequences of alien species in Europe. © The Ecological Society of America.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)135-144
JournalFrontiers in Ecology and the Environment
Volume8
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2010

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