Why Confronting Invasive Species is One of the Best Ways to Prepare for Climate Change
upstart writes:
It is no secret that the ecological health of the planet is under serious threat. Scientists have previously identified invasive species, drought and an altered nitrogen cycle, driven in part by the widespread use of synthetic fertilizers, as among the most serious planetary challenges, with global climate change topping the list. Many have assumed that climate change would consistently amplify the negative effects of invasives -- but, until now, there was no research to test that assumption.
[...] "What we found surprised us," says Lopez. "There were a number of cases where the interactions made everything worse at the local scale, which is what we expected to see, but only about 25% of the time. The majority of the time, invasions and environmental change together didn't make each other worse. Instead, the combined effects weren't all that much more than the impact of invasive species alone."
"What is so important about our findings," says Allen, "is that they highlight the critical importance of managing invasive species at the local scale." And the local scale is precisely the scale at which effective and swift action is most likely to happen.
[...] "Our work shows that dealing with invasive species now will make our ecosystems more climate resilient," says Bradley.
Isn't mankind an invasive species?
Journal Reference:
Bianca E. Lopez et al. Global environmental changes more frequently offset than intensify detrimental effects of biological invasions. PNAS, 2022; 119 (22) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2117389119
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