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The European Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species entered into force in 2015, with the aim to fulfill regional and international biodiversity goals in a concerted manner. To date, the Regulation listed 66 Invasive Alien Species (IAS) that are subject to legal controls. Only one of these is marine. A recent lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has been closely monitored in the Mediterranean and a detailed risk assessment was made about the profound impacts that this invasive fish is likely to have on the fisheries and biodiversity of the region. In 2016–21, lionfish rapidly became dominant predators along Eastern Mediterranean coasts, yet the process for their inclusion on the EU IAS list has been lengthy and is ongoing. There is an urgent need to learn from this experience. Here, we recommend improvements to the Regulation 1143/2014 and the risk assessment process to protect marine ecosystems and secure the jobs of people that rely on coastal resources.

The increase in global trade and traffic networks contributes to the introduction and spread of invasive alien species, posing a threat to biodiversity. EU Regulation 1143/2014 addresses the prevention and management of invasive alien species and requires an action plan on the priority pathways of unintentional introduction and spread of invasive alien species by each member state. To this end, the first German action plan was developed for the German government in cooperation with relevant Ministries and authorities, scientists, administrative experts, stakeholder working groups and political as well as public deliberation processes. As a result, 14 priority pathways of unintentional introduction, escape or release and spread were identified, resulting in 24 targeted measures. Nineteen sectors will be involved in the implementation of these measures. Here we describe the development process and outcome of Germany’s first action plan. By this, we aim making the process public and transparent, which can facilitate a revision of the action plan required at least every six years, and trigger broader European as well as national cooperation in the future.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to illustrate the emergence of a biological invasion and to explain the potential economic and social consequences on food chains. Straddling between ecology, social sciences, resource management and economics, invasion science is aimed at detecting, understanding and mitigating the impact of biological invasions on receiving ecosystems, including food ecosystems.Design/methodology/approachAfter a theoretical investigation about the main notions relevant for the invasion science, the authors practically review the kind of impacts deriving from biological invasions, mainly under economic, human health, ecosystem and biodiversity criteria.FindingsThe authors apply the DPSIR (Driving forces–pressure-state-impact-response) framework, originally developed in the context of European Environment Agency in this different context in order to assess the social, economic and environmental impacts of Invasive Alien Species (IAS). Responding to this emerging phenomenon, the European Union issues the EU regulation 1143/2014 which is the first strong act on invasive alien species.Originality/valueImplications – Food chains are complex systems that have multiple interdependencies both endogenously and exogenously, such as food production, food transportation, food logistics, food distribution, and so forth. However, it is rarely conceived the impact of invasion systems on the dynamics of food chains, although food sustainability is in turn impacted by how effectively and efficiently the various interdependencies have been designed or are working.

Since the 1950s, nine alien crayfish species have been introduced in the Rhine-Meuse river delta. Seven species originate from North America, one from Southeast Europe and one from East Europe/Asia. Currently, at least seven species have well-established populations. Five species are listed as invasive alien species (IAS) of European Union (EU) concern (i.e. Faxonius limosus, Faxonius virilis, Pacifastacus leniusculus, Procambarus clarkii and Procambarus virginalis). All crayfish species of EU concern are subject to restrictions on keeping, transportation, importing, selling and breeding. Member States are required to take action on pathways of unintentional introduction, to perform measures for early detection and rapid eradication of these species, and to manage species that are already widely spread. The impact of these IAS on biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems mainly results from transmission of the crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci, predation on native fauna, and fragmentation and consumption of aquatic plants. Moreover, burrowing activities of some IAS cause bank instability, increase risk of dike breaches in peatland areas and enhance sedimentation rates in ditches and canals. First-line risk assessments for the Rhine-Meuse river district with the Harmonia+ scheme shows that seven crayfish species have a high risk of impact on biodiversity, water safety and ecological status of water bodies. Four species have already established populations in this area of concern. The risk of spread via interconnected rivers, canals and small watercourses is high for all species of North American origin. Eradication of alien crayfish populations in an extensive and open network of interconnected watercourses is not feasible. Six management strategies for control of alien crayfish species were formulated. These strategies were assessed using various criteria for cost-effectivity and subsequently prioritized using an unweighted Multi Criteria Analysis. Feasible strategies for population control of invasive crayfish species combine a) measures for enhancing robustness and resilience of ecosystems, and b) crayfish trapping by commercial fishermen, water authorities and well-informed citizens.

Alien species are among the five drivers of environmental change with the largest relative global impacts. In particular, horticulture is a major introduction pathway of alien plants, but, together with intentional introductions, plants can also be introduced and spread via human-mediated involuntary pathways as contaminants and stowaways. Recurring accidental introductions of alien plants to new areas can be the prelude to invasion on a large scale. Agriculture represents a sector that is severely impacted by invasive alien species and, at the same time, it is likely to be one of the main factors responsible of biological invasions. So, the present review highlights risks related to accidental introduction though human-mediated agricultural pathways of a politically relevant group of alien plants, invasive alien plants of Union concern (IAPUC), that are species whose prevention and management is mandatory in the European Union according to Regulation (EU) n. 1143/2014. Even if most IAPUC have been primarily introduced as economic plants, several accidental pathways related to agriculture can be identified for each one of them. The implementation of technologies and the sharing of good practices, at a wide scale and at different levels of the society, would help in overcoming several problematic issues related to the accidental transport of IAPUC.

Government efforts to address invasive alien species (IAS) need collective actions, cooperation, and pooling of resources and expertise across borders. What is the status of transnational collaboration in the European Union (EU) to address IAS? First, IAS management projects within the EU were identified by a systematic literature review. Second, role players' perspective on transnational collaboration was investigated through a questionnaire. Third, challenges and opportunities were explored in an engagement workshop. This paper shows that language barriers and limited public access to information on IAS management across the EU have resulted in the work of competent authorities being little recognized by research projects and EU-funded initiatives. Our findings highlight that while there is a growing transnational consciousness, transnational projects are more academic in nature rather than involving direct collaboration between competent authorities. Finally, this paper advocates for policy agendas endorsing the gaps identified in protocols, plans and chains of actions necessary for effective management of IAS.

Niche dynamics represent an important element in predicting potential invasion areas of alien species and their impacts as well as in understanding mechanisms underlying invasion success. Pueraria lobata, commonly named “kudzu”, is an Asian vine and one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world. In Europe, it is a serious pest although its distribution is quite localized. At present, no detailed information about niche dynamics following its introduction to Europe is available, so it is not known whether the plant has shifted its niche or not, as well as whether it has filled the whole available climatic niche. To fill this gap of knowledge, we applied the unified COUE (i.e., centroid shift, overlap, unfilling, and expansion) framework to evaluate the shift in the climatic niche in the invasive with respect to the native range. According to our analysis, kudzu showed climatic niche conservatism following its introduction to Europe: we detected a shift in the position of centroids of native and invasive niche of kudzu, likely due to a difference in climate availability rather than to a colonization of novel climatic conditions. In Europe, kudzu is occupying a subset of the climate of the native range, mainly characterized by colder and drier conditions than those characterizing the Asian Pacific range of the plant. These conditions are marginal and rarely experienced by the plant in its native range. Furthermore, the absence of any niche expansion indicates that a spread to novel climates should be excluded for the European kudzu. The high niche unfilling suggests that kudzu has not yet occupied the majority of suitable climates available in Europe, even if, climatic conditions similar to its native range are not so widespread in Europe. Multivariate environmental similarity surface analysis suggests that it may expand its European range. Thus, it is pivotal that measures of prevention, early detection and monitoring are timely and effectively implemented to avoid its spread throughout Europe.

The Protecting European Biodiversity from Invasive Alien Species (INVALIS) project objective is to improve policies for protecting biodiversity from invasive alien species (IAS), by bringing together seven partners from seven countries and supporting policy measures for prevention, early detection, and control of IAS in their respective territories. The project is funded by the Interreg Europe program. The learning process of the INVALIS project consisted of various experience-exchanging activities among the project partners (interregional workshops, site visits, etc.), as well as among stakeholders at a regional level. This exchange of experiences led to the drafting of regional Action Plans by each partner. The INVALIS Action Plan of Greece is based on an analysis of the current situation of IAS management in Greece, and the transfer of good practices and conclusions derived from the exchange of experiences. Gaps in IAS management were identified mainly in the areas of raising public awareness of IAS and networking among IAS stakeholders. As a result, three actions were proposed to address these deficits: initiating a project on education and raising awareness about IAS, creating a web portal on these species, and establishing an IAS management working group. These actions will contribute towards improving specific policy instruments in Greece.

The intensive application of inorganic nitrogen underlies marked increases in crop production, but imposes detrimental effects on ecosystems 1 , 2 : it is therefore crucial for future sustainable agriculture to improve the nitrogen-use efficiency of crop plants. Here we report the genetic basis of nitrogen-use efficiency associated with adaptation to local soils in rice ( Oryza sativa L.). Using a panel of diverse rice germplasm collected from different ecogeographical regions, we performed a genome-wide association study on the tillering response to nitrogen—the trait that is most closely correlated with nitrogen-use efficiency in rice—and identified OsTCP19 as a modulator of this tillering response through its transcriptional response to nitrogen and its targeting to the tiller-promoting gene DWARF AND LOW-TILLERING ( DLT ) 3 , 4 . A 29-bp insertion and/or deletion in the OsTCP19 promoter confers a differential transcriptional response and variation in the tillering response to nitrogen among rice varieties. The allele of OsTCP19 associated with a high tillering response to nitrogen is prevalent in wild rice populations, but has largely been lost in modern cultivars: this loss correlates with increased local soil nitrogen content, which suggests that it might have contributed to geographical adaptation in rice. Introgression of the allele associated with a high tillering response into modern rice cultivars boosts grain yield and nitrogen-use efficiency under low or moderate levels of nitrogen, which demonstrates substantial potential for rice breeding and the amelioration of negative environment effects by reducing the application of nitrogen to crops. OsTCP19 is a modulator of the tillering response to nitrogen in rice, and introgression of an allele of OsTCP19 associated with a high tillering response into modern rice cultivars markedly improves their nitrogen-use efficiency.

Top court’s ruling threatens research on gene-edited crops in the bloc. Top court’s ruling threatens research on gene-edited crops in European Union.