Invasion ecologists, led by TERN’s Dr Irene Martin-Fores, have developed a workflow to integrate and harmonise terminology and information on plant invasions across federally managed countries. TERN is well known in Australia for developing and delivering standardised methods. This time, TERN’s efforts focus on facilitating prevention and management of biological invasions and informing biosecurity actions.
“The importance of both harmonising terminology and invasion status and unifying existing censuses in federally managed countries cannot be overstated. It is not merely an academic pursuit but a practical necessity, essential for delivering accurate and useful information in invasion ecology, and for informing biosecurity actions”, said Dr Irene Martín-Forés, University of Adelaide and TERN
Invasive plant species threaten biodiversity
Australia’s unique biodiversity faces a persistent threat from invasive plant species, which can disrupt ecosystems, endanger native flora and fauna, impact agricultural productivity and affect human health and well-being.
Tackling this challenge requires a comprehensive understanding of plant invasion trends and dynamics and the delivery of standardised and unified information to enable effective prevention and management strategies. Thus, having accessible, standardised, and unified data sources is key to successfully address the threat posed by biological invasions.
In federally managed countries, like Australia, different jurisdictions independently collate and contribute data on plant invasions. Sometimes those data use different terminology and report contrasting and contradictory information, leading to inconsistencies at the national level and therefore hampering efficient management.
In Australia, plant censuses including information on invasion status for vascular plant taxa are contributed independently by existing jurisdictions (including the six Australian states and two mainland territories). There is also a comprehensive plant census at the Australian national scale with accepted taxonomy for vascular plants, the Australian Plant Census (APC). Despite being federally managed, the APC provides information on a state-by-state basis, not synthesised nationally. Finally, the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) for Australia was recently published. However, to date nobody had integrated and harmonised all these existing data sources in Australia.
Towards a unified terminology for Australia
A group of national and international ecologists, led by Dr Irene Martin-Fores from the TERN Ecosystem Surveillance team, has delved into this challenge resulting in the publication two parallel and complementary approaches to tackle this matter, “Towards integrating and harmonising information on plant invasions across Australia” in Neobiota and “The Alien Flora of Australia (AFA), a unified Australian national dataset on plant invasion” in Nature Scientific Data.
Their work shed light on the importance of integrating and harmonising data for effective plant invasion management. In the study published in Neobiota, Dr Martin-Fores et al. focused on integrating and harmonising terminology and information on plant invasions in federally managed countries taking Australia as a leading example.
The authors reviewed the different frameworks already existing in the scientific literature and in policy spheres and proposed a unified terminology for Australia. In addition, they identified mismatches in definitions and records of invasion status for vascular plant taxa across different Australian jurisdictions (including the 6 Australian states and 2 mainland territories), the Australian Plant Census, and the Australian GRIIS.
The authors proposed prioritisation procedures to tackle those mismatches and to unify information at the state and territory levels and integrate information from independent data sources into a harmonised workflow at the national scale. This research highlights the need for a comprehensive and standardised approach to data collection and management, emphasising the importance of collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders.
Major environmental weed of northern Australia where it displaces native species – Buffel Grass, Cenchrus ciliaris (credit John Trann)
Research infrastructure resources – datasets and automatised R script
Complementing this effort, the study published by the same authors in Nature Scientific Data presents the Alien Flora of Australia (AFA), a unified national dataset on plant invasion. This dataset provides a consolidated and standardised plant census across Australia to inform management strategies at the state and territory levels and biosecurity actions at the national scales.
By compiling data from various sources and utilising an easy-to-update automatised R script, the workflow and methodology designed by Dr Martin-Fores et al., together with the AFA dataset, serve as valuable research infrastructure resources for researchers, land managers, conservation practitioners, and policymakers.
The open-access R script serves as an innovative tool and methodologies for invasive species management. The script can be updated over time with future releases of any of the data sources; similarly, it can be modified and adjusted to suit any other federally managed country and its particularities.
Furthermore, the AFA leverages various datasets at a large spatial scale, allowing for effective tracking of plant invasions and prediction of future trends. This understanding is crucial for developing effective management strategies, ensure joint efforts across jurisdictions, and to inform successful biosecurity actions at the national scale aimed at addressing the challenges posed by invasive plant species.
In this sense, the availability of a unified national dataset like AFA streamlines data access and facilitates collaboration among stakeholders. This collaborative spirit is essential for building resilience and promoting sustainable management practices in the face of plant invasions. The AFA, can be subset according to users’ needs, facilitating ecological modelling techniques, spatial analyses, and the development of predictive algorithms on invasion ecology.
The integration and harmonisation of data play a pivotal role in enhancing our comprehensive understanding of plant invasion dynamics and guiding evidence-based management practices at multiple spatial scales. By unifying data from diverse sources and adopting standardised data formats, the authors facilitate and simplify future studies focused on ecological modelling. With this infrastructure, researchers will be able to conduct more robust analyses, identify emerging trends, and develop targeted strategies for invasive species management. In this sense, both, the harmonisation workflow on plant invasions and the AFA, therefore, enable more informed decision-making processes, enhance the efficiency of plant invasion management efforts, and allows optimising resource allocation for invasion prevention and control.
Fostering interjurisdictional collaboration
Moving forward, continued efforts to integrate and harmonise data will be crucial for addressing emerging challenges and threats, and for adapting to changing environmental conditions. By harnessing the power of data-driven unifying approaches and fostering collaboration among jurisdictions, we can work towards mitigating the impacts of invasive plant species and preserving Australia’s unique and diverse ecosystems.
“Our advancements in integration and harmonisation of data on alien plants, provide a powerful arsenal for researchers, policymakers, and conservationists to confront the complexities of plant invasion across Australia,” said Dr Irene Martín-Forés, University of Adelaide and TERN
Links to further information
- R script for the harmonisation workflow
- AFA dataset
- Martín-Forés, Irene; Guerin, Greg; Lewis, Donna; Gallagher, Rachael; Vilà, Montserrat; Catford, Jane; Pauchard, Anibal & Sparrow, Ben. (2024). Towards integrating and harmonising information on plant invasions across Australia. NeoBiota. 92. 61-83. 10.3897/neobiota.92.113013
- Martín-Forés, I., Guerin, G.R., Lewis, D., Gallagher, R.V. , Vilà, M., Catford, J. A, Pauchard A. & B. Sparrow. The Alien Flora of Australia (AFA), a unified Australian national dataset on plant invasion. Sci Data 10, 834 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02746-3
