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Abstract Invasive species significantly impact biodiversity and ecosystem services, yet understanding these effects at large spatial scales remains a challenge. Our study addresses this gap by assessing the current and potential future risks posed by 94 invasive species to seven key ecosystem services in Europe. We demonstrate widespread potential impacts, particularly on outdoor recreation, habitat maintenance, crop provisioning, and soil and nitrogen retention. Exposure to invasive species was higher in areas with lower provision of ecosystem services, particularly for regulating and cultural services. Exposure was also high in areas where ecosystem contributions to crop provision and nitrogen retention were at their highest. Notably, regions vital for ecosystem services currently have low invasion suitability, but face an average 77% increase in potential invasion area. Here we show that, while high-value ecosystem service areas at the highest risk represent a small fraction of Europe (0-13%), they are disproportionally important for service conservation. Our study underscores the importance of monitoring and protecting these hotspots to align management strategies with international biodiversity targets, considering both invasion vulnerability and ecosystem service sustainability. 

Species introduced through human-related activities beyond their native range, termed alien species, have various impacts worldwide. The IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) is a global standard to assess negative impacts of alien species on native biodiversity. Alien species can also positively affect biodiversity (for instance, through food and habitat provisioning or dispersal facilitation) but there is currently no standardized and evidence-based system to classify positive impacts. We fill this gap by proposing EICAT+, which uses 5 semiquantitative scenarios to categorize the magnitude of positive impacts, and describes underlying mechanisms. EICAT+ can be applied to all alien taxa at different spatial and organizational scales. The application of EICAT+ expands our understanding of the consequences of biological invasions and can inform conservation decisions. 

Abstract Managing the impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) is a great societal challenge. A wide variety of terms have been used to describe the management of invasive alien species and the sequence in which they might be applied. This variety and lack of consistency creates uncertainty in the presentation and description of management in policy, science and practice. Here we expand on the existing description of the invasion process to develop an IAS management framework. We define the different forms of active management using a novel approach based on changes in species status, avoiding the need for stand-alone descriptions of management types, and provide a complete set of potential management activities. We propose a standardised set of management terminology as an emergent feature of this framework. We identified eight key forms of management: (1) pathway management, (2) interception, (3) limits to keeping, (4) secure keeping, (5) eradication, (6) complete reproductive removal, (7) containment and (8) suppression. We recognise four associated terms: prevention; captive management; rapid eradication; and long-term management, and note the use of impact mitigation and restoration as associated forms of management. We discuss the wider use of this framework and the supporting activities required to ensure management is well-targeted, cost-effective and makes best use of limited resources.