Invasive alien plants pose a significant threat to coastal ecosystems worldwide, with Carpobrotus taxa being among the most damaging. One of the most notable environmental consequences of plant invasions in coastal ecosystems is the modification of both abiotic and biotic soil properties. In this research, we investigated the impact of Carpobrotus taxa, representing distinct population genetic clusters in their native and non-native ranges, on soil abiotic characteristics, and the diversity of soil microorganisms. We sampled soils at 17 sites with Carpobrotus present vs absent, located in three regions: Southern Europe and California (non-native range) and South Africa (native range). We compared the pH, nutrient content, and diversity and composition of prokaryotic and fungal communities in soils from different regions as well as plots with and without Carpobrotus. We found substantial variation in soil abiotic properties and microbial diversity and composition between the studied regions, suggesting a strong influence of the regional context. Regardless of origin (i.e., native or nonnative) or the population genetic cluster, Carpobrotus presence caused significant changes in soil chemical properties and microbial communities but the type and direction of the changes varied across regions. For example, pH declined under Carpobrotus in California but not in the other regions, whereas % organic matter increased in the other regions but not in California. Understanding the context-dependent effects is crucial for predicting the ecological impacts of these invasive taxa.

The character of invaded habitats provides a complex information about the ecology of naturalized aliens and suggests the type of processes associated with their establishment at a landscape level. While single-habitat affiliations are typically studied, the synergistic combinations of habitats occupied by species offer more detailed and complete information about plant naturalizations. We performed cluster analysis to reveal the similarity of 14 habitat categories, based on the composition of affiliated naturalized species; tested if the globally most represented habitat combinations occur more frequently than expected by random; tested if the species affiliated in a given combination of habitats are globally more successful, compared to species affiliated in the corresponding single habitats; and tested, if the frequency of the most represented habitat combinations differs between the Old World and New World and between the Northern and Southern hemisphere. cluster analysis to reveal the similarity of 14 habitat categories, based on the composition of affiliated naturalized species; tested if the globally most represented habitat combinations occur more frequently than expected by random; tested if the species affiliated in a given combination of habitats are globally more successful, compared to species affiliated in the corresponding single habitats; and tested, if the frequency of the most represented habitat combinations differs between the Old World and New World and between the Northern and Southern hemisphere. Preliminary results of the cluster analysis revealed predictable groupings of invaded habitats similar in environmental conditions, such as Open forests – Scrub, Aquatic – Wetlands, Dryland – Rocky, Agricultural – Ruderal clusters. However, we found that Human-maintained grasslands and Natural grasslands are occupied by very different suites of naturalized alien species. Globally, the combinations of human-disturbed habitats containing either Ruderal or Agricultural habitat occurred with a significantly higher frequency than expected at random and occupied more regions than those restricted to either habitat alone. This suggests that habitat generalism – specifically across anthropogenic disturbance regimes – is a key predictor of global invasion success. Biogeographic patterns in the habitat combinations frequencies differ between the Old World and New World and between the Northern and Southern hemisphere. The most overrepresented habitat combinations in the Old World and Northern hemisphere were Open forests – Ruderal habitats and Agricultural habitats – Ruderal habitats, respectively, reflecting a legacy of prolonged human settlement and intensive landscape modification in regions where modern invasions originated. In contrast, the most overrepresented combination in the New World was Human-maintained grasslands – Ruderal habitats, a pattern likely driven by the historical expansion of European-style pastoralism and livestock management. Further, the most overrepresented combination in the South was Forests - Ruderal habitats, which may be linked to human-induced disturbances of (semi-) natural vegetation.

While the influential role of scientific associations in shaping research fields is well recognized, their impact within the domain of invasion science remains underexplored. This review combines qualitative narrative with quantitative metrics to trace the development of Neobiota, the first European non-profit and non-governmental scientific association dedicated to the study of biological invasions. Since its foundation in 1999, the Neobiota network has aimed to foster scientific exchange and collaboration, advance and integrate research across all dimensions of invasion science, and disseminate findings to support evidence-based policies. Evolving rapidly from a German working group into Europe’s leading network for invasion science, Neobiota has united researchers and practitioners across disciplines, taxa, and national boundaries. In contrast to many other associations, Neobiota operates with a low-threshold, non-bureaucratic governance model, promoting inclusivity and cross-border engagement. We document how its biennial conferences—hosted in 12 European countries between 2000 and 2024—have supported thematic diversity (ranging from molecular biology to socio-economy), increasing international participation (9–47 countries globally), and active policy outreach. Thematically, the focus of research presented at conferences has shifted over time from ecological patterns and species inventories to environmental impacts, predictive modeling, management strategies, and socio-political dimensions of invasions. Trends in equity reveal progress toward gender parity among keynote speakers and session chairs. Neobiota has also supported the dissemination of knowledge through two publication platforms: the Neobiota series (2000–2008) and the open-access, peer-reviewed journal NeoBiota launched in 2011. This journal currently operates under an Editorial Board with 75 subject editors and a team of five Co-Editors-in-Chief. We conclude that over the past 25 years, Neobiota has been instrumental in building a cohesive and inclusive scientific community globally, advancing and disseminating interdisciplinary research on biological invasions, and informing policy, particularly in support of legal frameworks to prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of non-native species.

Biological invasions impose substantial ecological and socio-economic burdens, yet the global economic impacts of invasive plants remain incompletely quantified. Here, we provide the first comprehensive global synthesis of reported monetary costs associated with invasive plants using the InvaCost database. After data validation and filtering for highly reliable, observed estimates, we identified a total cost of US$ 361.8 billion in documented costs worldwide between 1960 and 2022, representing a conservative baseline of invasive plant impacts at global level. Costs were strongly uneven across taxa and regions, with a small number of species and families accounting for the vast majority of costs and North America dominating reported expenditures. Terrestrial environments and the agricultural sector bore the greatest economic burden, while damage costs exceeded more than three times those related to management, and preventive investments remained negligible. Annual costs increased markedly from the 1990s onward, reaching peak values exceeding US$ 50 billion in some years. Cumulative damage costs followed sigmoidal trajectories, indicating rapid escalation over recent decades and suggesting substantial long-term economic liabilities under business-as-usual conditions. Socio-economic context and country size were key predictors of reported costs, highlighting strong reporting and capacity biases. Despite the magnitude of documented impacts, plant invasion costs remain severely underestimated due to taxonomic, geographic and sectoral data gaps. Our synthesis reveals the scale, concentration and accelerating trajectory of invasive plant costs globally, underscoring the urgent need for improved reporting, proactive prevention and more effective management to limit future economic losses.

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a major driver of global biodiversity loss, generating substantial ecological, economic and social impacts. Prevention and early intervention are widely recognised as being more cost‑effective than long‑term management. As a result, IAS policy frameworks increasingly rely on predictive strategies and tools to guide prioritisation. Horizon scanning has emerged as a key approach, providing structured, forward‑looking assessments of IAS that are likely to arrive in a new area in the near future, establish invasive populations and cause harm. Despite widespread uptake of the method, there has, to our knowledge, been no global synthesis of how IAS horizon scanning exercises are conducted, how methodologies are developed, and what their potential policy implications are. Here, we present a global review of over 50 IAS horizon scanning exercises undertaken up to 2026, drawing on published and grey literature. We examine how horizon scans were designed across multiple taxonomic groups, geographic scales, regions and environments, evaluate their underlying objectives, such as informing policy and biosecurity, and review their recommendations. Our review shows that the number of horizon scans has been steadily increasing in recent years. Across the horizon scanning literature, terrestrial and freshwater environments were more frequently represented than marine systems, and exercises more often covered a range of taxonomic groups (including plants and animals) rather than focusing on a single group (e.g. invertebrates) alone. Furthermore, the majority of horizon scanning exercises to date have been undertaken in Europe, predominantly at a country level, although transnational- and regional‑level exercises have also been conducted. Impacts on native biodiversity were the dominant focus, although consideration of economic and human health impacts have been increasing in recent studies. Horizon scanning outputs are most often intended to inform biosecurity planning and policy implementation, including the prioritisation of species for further risk assessment and risk management. Most exercises follow a broadly consistent workflow: compilation of large species longlists; application of exclusion criteria to focus further effort and review; structured scoring of likelihood of arrival, establishment, spread and impact; and the application of consensus‑based prioritisation through expert elicitation and moderated group discussions. However, we identified variation in how species lists are compiled/generated, how climate or habitat suitability is assessed, which risk‑scoring frameworks are applied, and whether management feasibility or socio‑economic considerations are formally incorporated. Many studies report uncertainty associated with scoring the likelihood of arrival, establishment, and impact, particularly for understudied taxonomic groups and emerging pathways. Recurring challenges include inconsistent reporting of methods and assumptions, and limited evaluation of whether identified species inform regulatory or other action. We highlight the value of horizon scans for the effective prevention of IAS and discuss how greater standardisation of reporting and systematic evaluation could strengthen the policy impact, e.g. by facilitating the transfer of outcomes between ecologically similar regions and allowing for the upscaling of local results to larger geographic scales. Similarly, as horizon scanning practice expands, this might allow the integration of big data analytics and machine learning methods to identify emerging patterns, pathways, and taxonomic or functional trends associated with invasion risk. This could facilitate more data-driven, automated and rapid screening processes, improving the scalability and consistency of assessments, and strengthening proactive decision-making.

Protected areas (PAs) are key for conserving biodiversity and can act as partial barriers against the regional spread of alien species. Yet, the number of invasive species and the magnitude of their impact on PAs are increasing globally, creating an urgent need to establish effective management actions. Increased public interest in biological invasions in PAs may lead to increased support for their management. To assess recent public interest, we extracted and analysed data from Twitter/X, which was one of the most popular microblogging social media platforms during the study period. Firstly, we extracted all tweets posted between 2010 and 2020 containing the scientific name of any plant species recorded as naturalised anywhere in the world, or the term ‘invasive species’, together with the name of any national park globally and the term ‘national park’. This approach allowed us to capture potential mentions of species across their native and non-native ranges. Mentions of species in their native ranges were identified and flagged in the dataset. Secondly, using Kruger National Park (i.e. one of the oldest and most widely known protected areas in the world) as a study case, we extracted all tweets posted in 2010–2020 containing the term ‘Kruger’ together with: (1) the scientific name of any of the 146 taxa recorded in the recently updated naturalised alien flora of the park, (2) the genus name of some of the most well-known naturalised plant species in the park, some of which also function as common names, and (3) the term ‘invasive species’. We found a very limited number of tweets. These results suggest that public engagement with the topic of invasive plant species in national parks on social media was limited during the study period. Conservation implications: Public awareness campaigns are needed to support successful management of plant invasions in protected areas globally.

Invasive Australian Acacia species are known to modify soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities, yet their effects on soil microbial co-occurrence networks and functioning across native and non-native ranges remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated these impacts by comparing soil physicochemical properties, soil bacteriome diversity, composition and nitrogen-cycling guilds in sites with and without Acacia species across native (Australia) and non-native regions where they have become naturalized or invasive (New Zealand, South Africa). We reconstructed bacterial co-occurrence networks to examine network topological features and associated hub taxa (i.e., highly interactive/connected bacteria) in relation to soil physicochemical variables and the presence of acacia trees. Acacia presence was associated with soil acidification and increases in soil organic matter and NH₄⁺-N in New Zealand and South Africa, but not in Australia. Networks associated with acacia soils in New Zealand and South Africa showed lower node-level closeness than those in Australia, indicating that soil bacterial taxa are less centrally connected in the non-native ranges than in the native range of acacias. Relative abundance of hub taxa was strongly correlated with soil pH, moisture, and nutrient availability. Our findings highlight the importance of combining co-occurrence network analysis with differential abundance testing of core taxa and exploring the associations between highly connected (central) soil microbes, changes in soil physicochemical properties, and nitrogen-cycling guilds. Understanding how microbial networks respond to invasive plant species is essential for predicting the recovery of soils following management interventions. For instance, this knowledge can guide restoration strategies, identifying instances where passive recovery is sufficient and when active interventions, such as soil amendments or microbial inoculation, are necessary to restore native communities and ecosystem processes.

Invasive animal species threaten ecosystems, biodiversity and human livelihoods. Behavioural traits such as boldness, exploratory tendencies, learning ability and social interactions are known to influence invasion success. Yet these behavioural traits remain underexplored due to challenges in observing behaviour across large spatial and temporal scales. The emerging field of iEcology-studying ecology using digital data such as online photos, videos, sounds and text, generated for other purposes-offers a novel and scalable approach for investigating invasive species behaviour. Here, we demonstrate the application of iEcology to uncover novel insights into the behaviour of invasive species, such as dominance over the native species, interactions with native species or increased tolerance to humans, all critical for assessing species' invasion potential and management. We also discuss challenges of applying iEcology to studying the behaviour of invasive animals and highlight the need for careful validation and complementary methods. Finally, we highlight ways and provide a workflow to maximise the potential of iEcology for advancing the study of invasive species behaviour. We advocate for integrating iEcology into invasion science to advance our understanding of animal behaviours accompanying invasion success and ultimately to support the monitoring, management and mitigation strategies of biological invasions. We argue that iEcology is best viewed as a complementary tool that enriches traditional behavioural ecology and invasion biology, enabling rapid, accessible insights into one of the most urgent ecological issues of our time.

Human influence is a key driver of plant invasions. Yet, invasion science has largely focused on ecological factors, often overlooking the human and social dimensions that shape the invasion process. The InvaSyn project aims to address this gap by identifying plant invasion syndromes that integrate these dimensions, ultimately improving our understanding of the context-dependent nature of biological invasions. To contribute to this aim, we draw on the Protected Areas and Invasive Alien Species (PROTIAS) database, developed within the SynHab project (www.synhab.com), which compiles data on the presence of naturalised alien plant species across nearly 1,500 protected areas (PAs) in more than 50 countries, encompassing approximately 5,000 alien taxa. Using novel culturomics approaches, we aim to characterise people's interest in and awareness of non-native plant species listed in the PROTIAS database by analysing Google Health Trends and Wikipedia. For this, we searched en.wikipedia articles associated with PROTIAS-listed PAs for content related to these non-native plant species. For each species, we quantified relative search volumes on Google Health Trends and pageviews on en.wikipedia. Furthermore, in each Wikipedia PA articles we examined the frequency of mentions, the context in which species appeared (e.g. introduction, impacts, management), and the level of engagement generated (e.g. the number of visits to species links). We then used these metrics to classify non-native species into groups with similar patterns of people’s interest and awareness (e.g. high engagement but limited search volume) using multidimensional scaling (MDS). Species-level analyses were also conducted to relate these metrics to naturalisation success, defined as the number of PROTIAS-listed PAs and GloNAF (Global Naturalised Alien Flora) regions from which a species has been reported. We hypothesise that certain types of plant invasions in PAs are shaped by distinct combinations of social and ecological factors that group into identifiable clusters (e.g. a species that attracts high public attention due to its substantial impact but has limited naturalisation success). Additionally, we recorded the frequency of mentions of other major drivers of global environmental change (e.g. pollution, fire, direct exploitation of species) in the Wikipedia PA articles, to contextualise how people's interest in plant invasions compares with attention to other conservation-related threats. By integrating the PROTIAS database with culturomics, this study aims to generate insights on the perception of plant invasions in PAs that can help guide conservation efforts.

Understanding physiological integration in invasive clonal plants is relevant to invasion biology because resource transfer across ramets may allow alien plants to buffer spatial heterogeneity in their introduced areas. However, experimental evidence across native and non-native ranges is limited. Here, we tested whether physiological integration provides greater performance benefits to Carpobrotus taxa in non-native than native ranges. We grew clonal fragments under controlled conditions from eleven populations representing different genetic clusters across their native and non-native ranges. Connected recipient ramets showed higher growth than severed ones, with increased ramet length, node number, Branching and Vigor Indices, while connected donor ramets showed reduced growth, indicating resource redistribution within the clone. Plants from non-native ranges exhibited overall higher growth-related traits and chlorophyll content, suggesting enhanced growth and stress tolerance across genetic backgrounds. These results indicate that physiological integration allows Carpobrotus taxa to overcome environmental heterogeneity by reallocating resources among ramets, promoting clonal growth and expansion, and potentially increasing competitive ability in non-native ranges. Our findings provide experimental evidence across multiple populations that physiological integration can promote the ecological success of clonal invaders.

Public perceptions of invasive alien species are critical for the societal acceptance of management measures. However, there is limited comparative cross-country evidence regarding the combined influence of awareness, values, emotions, and communication framings on these perceptions. This study, conducted within the EU Horizon Europe project OneSTOP, presents findings from representative surveys of the general public (aged 18+) in Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Romania, and the United Kingdom (~500 respondents per country). Each country survey follows a shared structure but features two locally relevant invasive alien species—one plant and one animal—selected based on EU Union list status, public visibility, perceived charisma, and management controversy. To examine the influence of communication on attitudes, the survey included an embedded framing experiment: respondents were randomly assigned to one of three information treatments—a control providing general invasive alien species information, and two treatments presenting the same species framed through different justifications for management, such as biodiversity impact, environmental or cultural loss, economic cost, human health risks and social norm. Based on approximately 2,500 responses, we expect to provide insights into how awareness and knowledge influence public perceptions of invasive alien species across the five countries, and how these perceptions are further shaped by emotional responses associated with species charisma, perceived ecological and economic impacts, cultural significance, personal experience, and proximity. The findings are anticipated to show how these factors, together with socio-economic characteristics, influence public attitudes toward different management options, including support for eradication, control, or tolerance. The analysis aims to offer evidence on whether and how different framings shift attitudes toward management options, and which types of arguments most effectively increase support for action across countries and socio-demographic groups. The results will inform the development of targeted communication and citizen engagement strategies within and beyond the OneSTOP project.

Although habitat is widely recognised as a key factor in the naturalisation of alien plants — for example, with greater success observed in human-made habitats than in natural ones — the extent to which a species' habitat niche influences its invasiveness remains unclear. In particular, species that occupy a broad range of habitats may spread more widely due to their tolerance of diverse environmental conditions. To address this issue, we analysed data from the SynHab database, which was developed as part of the “Macroecology of plant invasions: a global synthesis across habitats” project (www.synhab.com). This dataset comprises records of approximately 6,500 naturalised species across 14 habitat categories from 102 regions worldwide. Where available, habitat distribution data were complemented with information on invasion status (naturalised vs. invasive; GloNAF database, van Kleunen et al. 2018), residence time (Seebens and Renard Truong 2026) and species-specific traits (GIFT; Weigelt et al. 2019). Preliminary results show that the number of regions invaded by a species is strongly positively related to the number of habitats it occupies, with habitat specialists consistently exhibiting limited geographic distributions. Species traits also play an important role in determining naturalisation success. Naturalization success showed a unimodal relationship with plant height, peaking at approximately 1 m, which characterises the most widespread naturalised species globally. This pattern was consistent across most habitat types, except in aquatic habitats, where taller species tended to be more successful in general. In contrast, the effect of plant growth form did not vary among habitats, with graminoids being among the most successful groups and shrubs being among the least successful. Overall, habitat is a key predictor of naturalisation success, shaping species' naturalisation strategies across environments.

Non-native species (NNS) can have significant ecological and economic impacts worldwide, making timely monitoring and effective communication essential. We used YouTube metadata to examine how NNS with first records in the Iberian Peninsula between 2006 and 2025 are represented on the video-sharing platform and how this discourse is thematically framed. Using the YouTube Data API, we built a multilingual, Iberia-validated corpus from video titles and descriptions, classifying keywords and expressions into four broad themes: Invasion, Detection, eCommerce, and Threat. We combined descriptive analyses of thematic proportions with multinomial and generalised additive models to assess variation across taxonomic groups, invasion status, introduction period, and time since first record. Audience response was assessed using an engagement index derived from video metrics. After manual validation, the dataset comprised 1895 videos from 1002 channels covering 94 species. Thematic composition varied in relation to first-record year, with decreased trade-related content after first records and invasion and detection themes becoming more frequent. Video production was highly decentralised across channels, with insects achieving the highest popularity. Several species with limited video content nevertheless showed high per-video engagement, indicating that online visibility is not determined solely by upload volume. These results show that YouTube metadata can complement traditional monitoring by relating ecological risk to societal attention and revealing how NNS become socially visible and framed in public discourse. The multilingual lexicon and workflow developed here support conservation culturomics, targeted communication, and potential integration of digital discourse indicators into horizon-scanning frameworks in biodiversity-rich regions under high introduction pressure.

The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) on native biodiversity, by strengthening the implementation of the EU IAS Regulation. A central component of this Regulation is the establishment of a list of IAS of Union concern, which is updated periodically through decisions made by the European Commission and Member States, informed by risk assessments aligning with agreed minimum standards and conducted by the European Commission or the Member States themselves. To support these updates, an EU-level horizon scanning for species that could be considered for listing was undertaken, aiming to identify at least 100 species likely to arrive, establish, spread and have an impact on native biodiversity or ecosystem services within the next ten years. Species were assessed by experts within five thematic groups: plants, marine species, freshwater invertebrates, terrestrial invertebrates, and vertebrates. A long list of relevant species was collated from various sources, such as species lists from global horizon scanning exercises and databases. This longlist was subsequently enriched with information on species occurrence in EU Member States using a data-driven pipeline based on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Species with a lack of robust distribution data and widely spread species, defined as occurring in three or more 50 × 50 km grid cells in the EU, were excluded. The same pipeline was used to derive a standardised measure of a species climate match with European climates under current (2001–2025) and future (2026–2050) scenarios, based on Köppen–Geiger climate classification zones (Delva et al. 2025). Wherever possible and relevant, this was integrated in the scoring sheets and maps were shared with the experts. After this, a rapid expert-based assessment of each species was undertaken, followed by a consensus building workshop to achieve a final list of prioritised species. The overall process resulted in a final list of 165 species being considered likely to enter and spread in the EU, therefore being recommended for prioritisation in developing risk assessments under the EU IAS Regulation Nunes 2025 a. Among these, 57 species were identified as high-priority candidates, showing the highest likelihood of introduction, establishment, spread, and impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU in the next 10 years. Many of these are already present in the EU, albeit in limited areas, underscoring the urgency of proactive management before they become widespread. Additionally, it is important to highlight the need for effective biosecurity protocols for those species that are currently held in confinement. The remaining 457 species considered for the workshop were deemed of lower priority; while they are not immediately recommended for risk assessment, they remain relevant for monitoring and early warning systems. To foster future horizon scans, the resulting lists were made available on an open data platform Nunes 2025. Possible challenges to listing species under the Regulation were identified and discussed, such as insufficient or uncertain data, low management feasibility or resource constraints, and push back by different stakeholders. Finally, we also identified 49 genera and six families that contain a disproportionally high number of invasive species, indicating a need for additional policy measures to prevent their negative impact on European biodiversity.

Human-made habitats are hubs of plant invasions in new regions and the most important points of entry. We used the SynHab database, which allows us to analyse how habitat identity shapes plant naturalization patterns worldwide, based on 7,278 alien vascular plant species across 102 regions assigned to 14 basic habitat types, to demonstrate the importance of human-made habitats in plant invasions. They emerged as the most important global reservoir of naturalized plants. Among the six broad habitat groups, they harbour the largest cumulative number of naturalized species, with 5,488 species, far exceeding all other habitats. At the finer level, urban ruderal habitats are especially important, containing 4,890 naturalized species, while agricultural habitats contain 3,169. On average, 75.6% of the regional pool of naturalized aliens occurred in ruderal habitats and 49.0% in agricultural habitats. This makes urban and other heavily transformed human-dominated environments the clearest global centres of plant naturalization. Urban and ruderal habitats combine high propagule pressure, frequent disturbance, and broad resource availability, which together promote naturalization. Human-made habitats also show one of the steepest naturalization species accumulation curves, indicating high vulnerability to invasion when habitat area increases globally. Several drivers of naturalized species richness in human-made habitats are particularly relevant. The strongest was per capita GDP, showing a highly significant hump-shaped relationship and explaining 38% of the variation. Mean annual temperature also had a significant hump-shaped effect, while the maximum temperature of the warmest month and precipitation seasonality showed negative relationships, indicating that extreme heat and drought constrain naturalization. Minimum evapotranspiration was also negatively related to richness, while annual precipitation and precipitation of the wettest month showed significant quadratic effects. More generally across habitats, the paper highlights heat, drought stress, disturbance, and proxies of propagule pressure and human activity as major determinants of naturalized species richness. Thus, urban and other human-made habitats are not only the richest in naturalized species, but also among the clearest examples of how economic activity, human density, and environmental modification interact to drive global plant invasions.

A recent report by an international panel of experts reveals that the problem of invasive alien species (IAS) is worsening rather than improving: the rate of establishment of alien species continues to rise and IAS cause more negative than positive impacts on both nature and human well-being. This situation justifies revisiting the topic ten years after the publication of the first monograph on IAS in the journal Ecosistemas, to assess the progress made in Spain over the past decade. Scientific production has increased up to 2020/21 and stabilised since then, being intermediate with respect to other neighbouring countries. Legislative advances are reflected in the extension of the Spanish and European catalogues of IAS, and in the regulation of the first import of alien species. Our knowledge of the distribution of IAS has improved thanks to global databases, technological advances and the contribution of citizen science. The management of IAS in Spain depends on the Autonomous Communities, with great disparity of action among them. Experts highlight, as barriers to effective management, the lack of resources and scientific-technical knowledge of management methods, poor control of entry routes, lack of coordination between different management entities, and low public awareness of IAS risks. The main management costs are related to the control of established IAS, while very little funding is allocated to the prevention of future invasions or to early eradication measures. These limitations will have to be addressed in the future to tackle the problem of biological invasions in Spain more efficiently.

The overarching objective of OneSTOP is to pioneer an innovative and joined-up approach to biosecurity for terrestrial invasive alien species, strengthening the interconnections between animal, plant, human and environmental health. OneSTOP aims to harness current technologies and citizen science, while overcoming challenges posed by dispersed and fragmentary processes, policies, and knowledge, to deliver methods for identification, early detection and surveillance of invasive alien species. OneSTOP aims to achieve transformative results to minimise the introduction, establishment and spread of invasive alien species by integrating cutting-edge detection methods, underpinned by prioritisation and robust models, alongside stakeholder engagement to inform harmonised policies and facilitate knowledge exchange. The outcomes will be relevant for invasive alien species policy, noting the importance of enhancing collaboration and coordination across local, national, and regional scales, recognising that geographic boundaries do not confine the impact of these species. By adopting a holistic and interconnected approach, OneSTOP seeks to establish a strategy to achieve rapid and transformative progress in detecting, eradicating and controlling invasive alien animals and plants, ultimately contributing to a more secure and resilient environment. Throughout, OneSTOP is based upon the strategic actions recommended for integrated governance of biological invasions in the recently published IPBES Thematic assessment report on invasive alien species and their control (IPBES 2023).

1. Understanding the flowering phenology of invasive alien plants is essential for predicting their potential impacts on invaded ecosystems and developing effective management strategies. However, achieving this for globally widespread invasive species poses significant challenges. Digital data offer an efficient and scalable solution to studying the flowering phenology of plants across diverse regions and environments. 2. Here, we apply this approach to taxa in the genus Carpobrotus, one of the most problematic groups of invasive plants in coastal areas worldwide. We collected geotagged photographs from widely used online platforms (i.e. Instagram, Google Maps, and iNaturalist) at key tourist sites in six countries spanning native (South Africa) and non-native (Argentina, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and the United States) regions. These records were analysed to document the flowering phenology of Carpobrotus plants in different regions linked to their genetic lineages (clusters), focussing on the start, end and peak flowering periods. 3. Our results show that broad floristic region and sampling locality, rather than genetic lineage, are the primary determinants of flowering phenology in the Carpobrotus taxa studied. Non-native populations often displayed extended flowering periods compared to native populations, potentially enhancing their pollen availability and seed production, contributing thus to increased propagule pressure or seed bank. Apparent differences among genetic clusters in single-model analyses were not retained once a site-level random effect was included, indicating that observed cluster contrasts reflect local environmental and sampling variation more than intrinsic genetic differences. 4. Practical implication. This study highlights the use of digital data to address critical knowledge gaps in the flowering phenology of invasive plants across native and non-native ranges. By identifying extended flowering periods and their potential contribution to increased propagule pressure through prolonged seed production and subsequent accumulation in the soil seed bank, our findings provide valuable insights for developing targeted management strategies, such as optimizing intervention timing to coincide with flowering peaks.

Biological invasions are one of the major drivers of biodiversity decline and have been shown to have far-reaching consequences for society and the economy. Preventing the introduction and spread of alien species represents the most effective solution to reducing their impacts on nature and human well-being. However, implementing effective solutions requires a good understanding of where the species are established and how biological invasions develop over time. Knowledge of the status and trends of biological invasions is thus key for guiding research efforts, informing stakeholders and policymakers, for targeted management efforts, and preparing for the future. However, information about the status and trends of alien species is scattered, patchy, and highly incomplete, making it difficult to assess. Published reports for individual regions and taxonomic groups are available, but large-scale overviews are scarce. A global assessment therefore requires a review of available knowledge with careful consideration of sampling and reporting biases. This paper provides a comprehensive global assessment of the status and trends of alien species for major taxonomic groups [Bacteria, Protozoa, Stramenopila, Alveolata, and Rhizaria (SAR), fungi, plants, and animals] for Intergovernmental Panel of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) regions. The review provides irrefutable evidence that alien species have been introduced to all regions worldwide including Antarctica and have spread to even the most remote islands. The numbers of alien species are increasing within all taxa and across all regions, and are often even accelerating. Large knowledge gaps exist, particularly for taxonomic groups other than vascular plants and vertebrates, for regions in Africa and Central Asia, and for aquatic realms. In fact, for inconspicuous species, such as Bacteria, Protozoa, and to some degree SAR and fungi, we found records for very few species and regions. Observed status and trends are thus highly influenced by research effort. More generally, it is likely that all lists for alien species of any taxonomic group and region are incomplete. The reported species numbers therefore represent minima, and we can expect additions to all lists in the near future. We identified six key challenges which need to be addressed to reduce knowledge gaps and to improve our ability to assess trends and status of biological invasions.