Horizon scanning for alien plant species for the arctic region
In recent decades, the terrestrial Arctic is under increasing pressure from biological invasions due to a rise in human activities and climate change. Previous studies have identified 341 alien plant taxa in the Arctic of which, 188 had become naturalised with 11 taxa considered invasive. In 2024, a new horizon scanning study was conducted using the Global Naturalized Alien Flora database (GloNAF) which contains 13 939 vascular plant taxa known to be naturalised or alien worldwide and climate data to evaluate if each taxa has the potential to establish in the Arctic biogeographical region. This resulted in the identification of 2 554 plant taxa that had the potential to establish in the Arctic region. The five potential new alien species with the largest projected areas of climatic suitability in the Arctic were Arnica angustifolia (Asteraceae) which may find suitable climatic conditions across 95% of the Arctic region, followed by Koeleria spicata (Poaceae) (94%), Micranthes nelsoniana (Saxifragaceae) (93%), Alnus alnobetula (Betulaceae) (84%) and Senecio nemorensis (Asteraceae) (62%). While new plant introductions may provide some benefits in a rapidly warming Arctic, such as ecological functions or services that support ecosystem resilience, others species may have negative consequences. Therefore, with limited resources, management methods should balance monitoring of potentially harmful taxa with the inevitability of ecological change in the region.
Sources
Ulsted TH, Westergaard KB, Dawson W, Speed JDM (2025) Horizon scanning of potential new alien vascular plant species and their climatic niche space across the Arctic. NeoBiota 104, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.104.165054