Database of field studies on environmental impacts of invasive plant species in Europe

Study Extent

The data were collected on the European continent between 1995 and 2022

Sampling

We conducted a comprehensive review of the field studies reporting ecological impacts of invasive plant species in Europe. We searched for relevant articles on the Web of Science (https://www.webofscience.com/wos/alldb/basic-search) database on December 31, 2022 with no restriction on publication year, using the following search term combinations: (plant inva* OR exotic plant OR alien plant OR non-native plant) AND (impact* OR effect*) AND (community structure* OR diversity* OR ecosystem process* OR competition*).

Method steps

1. We first screened titles and abstracts to identify all publications on the impacts of invasive plants conducted in Europe. We then examined each publication and constructed a database of impacts according to the following selection criteria: a) The studies had to be in natural or semi-natural field conditions in Europe. Thus, the evidence of impact was based on observational or experimental (i.e. removal or addition of target species) studies comparing simultaneously invaded or uninvaded sites where the identity of single invasive species causing impacts was explicitly mentioned. We excluded tree plantations if there was no mention to their natural establishment. We also excluded those referring to impacts by several invasive species. b) We classified the response variables in impact types to species, communities and ecosystems properties following Vilà et al. (2011). That is, impacts to species and communities of microbes, plants and animals; and impacts on ecosystems properties (soil C/N, nutrient fluxes, decomposition rates, pH, nutrient pools, resource availability, soil minerals, soil organic matter and soil salinity/cation exchange capacity). In total, the database was classified in 15 impact types. c) When the same publication examined different impact response variables or different invasive species we considered each as different entries in the database.

Invasive plant species in Europe

1. Plantae
   common name: Plants rank: kingdom

Field studies conducted on the European continent