Audit of non-native species in England, UK
In UK, data has been collected on non-native species present in England. Information on non-native species has often been under-recorded, the recognition of introduced species being often problematical and much data being dispersed. The aim of this work was to document the occurrence of non-native species in all taxonomic groups in England and to collect data on their date and pathways of introduction, their native range and their present geographical distribution, with the support of bibliographic references. After clarifying the assumptions and definitions used for “non-native”, “naturalized”, “pathways of introductions” etc., the study provides interesting key findings in terms of numbers and impact of non-native species on biodiversity. Out of the 2721 non-native species entered in the database, terrestrial plants represented 73% of the total, i.e. 1798 species. Concerning the effects of introduced species: 7 and 14 plants are considered to have respectively a strongly negative or a negative economic impact; 6 and 48 are considered to have respectively a strongly negative and a negative environmental impact.
Sources
Hill M, Baker R, Broad G, Chandler PJ, Copp GH, Ellis J, Jones D, Hoyland C, Laing I, Longshaw M, Moore N, Parrott D, Pearman D, Preston C, Smith RM, Waters R (2005) Audit of non-native species in England. English Nature Research Reports n° 662. 81 pp. http://www.english-nature.org.uk/pubs/publication/pdf/662.pdf