Invasive alien plants in the Canary Islands (ES)
The Canary Islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro) are a volcanic archipelago situated in the North-Eastern Atlantic Ocean and are one of the most biodiverse oceanic insular systems of plants on the planet. They are a hotspot of plant biodiversity. Since the 1950s, the number of naturalised records of non-native plant species has steadily increased with the increase of trade, tourism and changes of land use. An up-to-date check list of invasive alien plant species in the Canary Islands was obtained by searching the current literature and online databases. The updated list comprises of 149 alien species: 101 invasive and 48 naturalized plant species. The families with the highest number of invasives in the Canary Islands are Cactaceae (18 species), Poaceae (18), Asparagaceae (13) and Fabaceae (11), which represent 38.5% of the alien flora. Genera such as Agave, Opuntia and Cylindropuntia had the highest number of species. Around 39.4% of the alien species were herbaceous species, while 61.6% were woody species, with only 16 tree species. The highest number of invasive alien species is found on Gran Canaria (79 species) and Tenerife (78), while the lowest on Lanzarote (35) and El Hierro (31) respectively. The greatest number of invasive alien species originated from the Neotropics (39 species), with Cape Region in South Africa (12), tropical Africa (8) and the Mediterranean Basin (7) being important sources of invasive plants for Canary Islands.
Sources
Morente-López J, Arjona Y, Salas-Pascual M, Reyes-Betancort JA, del Arco-Aguilar MJ, Emerson BC, García-Gallo A, Jay-García LS, Naranjo-Cigala A, Patiño J (2023) Biogeographic origins and drivers of alien plant invasions in the Canary Islands. Journal of Biogeography, 1–15.