Image credit: Dechoum et al., 2021 - John Wiley & Sons
Abstract
Invasive alien species cause negative environmental that impact biodiversity and human livelihoods. Biodiversity conservation in Brazil strongly relies in the establishment of protected areas (PA), which are divided in two classes:\ sustainable use and strict protection. Understanding the geographic distribution of invasive species in ecoregions and PA is important to support management programs. The aim of our study was to assess the distribution of invasive alien species in ecoregions and PA in Brazil. We used data from the Brazil National Invasive Alien Species Database (The Horus Institute), the geospatial database of terrestrial ecoregions in Brazil and the database of federal and state PA in Brazil (Instituto Socioambiental). We found 367 invasive alien species in the 35 Brazilian ecoregions, 59% of which are present in PA. The highest numbers of IAS occur in the Serra do Mar Coastal Forests, Alto Paraná Atlantic Forests and Araucaria Moist Forests ecoregions. A few PA in the sustainable use class contain the largest numbers of IAS, followed by strict protection areas in the southeast and south of Brazil. Official reference on invasive species and increased awareness and capacity for implementation of practical measures are key to advance IAS management in Brazil.