The study reported that the damage from invasive plants and animals expanding into new ecosystems has cost society more than $2.2 trillion worldwide.
- Plants emerged as the most economically impactful invasive species followed by arthropods and mammals.
Invasive Species
- Invasive species are those plants, animals, or microorganisms that do not naturally belong to a region but, once introduced, spread quickly and disturb the local balance.
- In India, common examples include Lantana camara that clogs forests, Parthenium hysterophorus (Congress grass) spreading on farmland, Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) choking water bodies, and the African catfish threatening native fish diversity.
Implications of Invasive Species
- Affect Food Web: They often outcompete native species for resources, degrade ecosystems, reduce agricultural yields, and can even spread diseases.
- Upset Ecological Balance: They reduce biodiversity by pushing native species to the margins.
- Helping Ecosystems: In rare cases, invasive species have supported declining species or provided key ecosystem services like non-native honey bees serving as surrogate pollinators.
Control Measures
- Prevention: Stop new invasive species from entering through stricter checks on trade, travel, and shipping (like ballast water management).
- Control Measures: Utilizing Biological Control (using plant diseases, insect predators, parasitoids, pathogens etc.), Mechanical Control, and Chemical Control (herbicides, pesticides, insecticides or fungicides etc.)
- Eradication and Restoration: Remove invasive species completely in early stages, and restore ecosystems through reintroducing native species and improving habitats.
