Towards integrating and standardising information on plant invasions across Australia

Abstract

Over the last decades, terminology to refer to invasion status along the introduction-naturalisation-invasion continuum have been based either on overcome barriers or on impact-based frameworks, generating debates within the scientific community. The lack of agreement with regards to definitions have sometimes hampered combining information from sources based on different criteria. In Australia, information on plant invasions is contributed independently from different jurisdictions, which has led to inconsistencies regarding both, terminology to refer to invasion ecology, and invasion status at the national level, therefore impeding efficient management. In this paper, we review and discuss the steps taken to harmonise the different terminologies used across Australian states, we identify the mismatches in introduction at the jurisdictional and national scales and proposed detailed prioritisation systems to tackle mismatches at both scales and to integrate information into a standardised system at the national scale. This integration exercise has made possible the creation of a standardised dataset at the Australian national scale (the Alien Flora of Australia). In Australia, having an integrated system for referring to and tracking alien flora can, not only aid early warning and prevention of introduced species, but also facilitate decision-making at the jurisdictional levels, and biosecurity measures at the national scale. We also highlight the opportunities arising from integrating contrasting information into the continental scale.