The key catalogue of information on 'alien', or non-native, species in Europe has undergone a major update. The Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventory for Europe (DAISIE) database provides policy-makers and other experts a comprehensive overview of which alien species are present in Europe and their consequences for the environment and society.
The DAISIE online database, at www.europe-aliens.org, was relaunched on 13 September at the NEOBIOTA conference in Pontevedra in Spain. It contains details of over 12,000 alien species and plays an important role in tackling the threat of alien species within Europe.
The DAISIE project began in 2005 with funding from the European Union and is now supported by the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology in the UK and the Swiss Sciex programme, in collaboration with a consortium of alien species experts from across Europe. In recent months details of over 1,000 new species have been added to the database by experts from across Europe, and many other species entries have been updated with the latest information.
Dr Franz Essl, from Environment Agency Austria, said in a statement: "The DAISIE-portal has become the prime source on the state of the growing threat of biological invasions in Europe. The launch of the updated version of the DAISIE portal, providing lots of new information and new search tools, makes it even more relevant for scientists, conservation managers, and decision makers."
DAISIE co-coordinator, Dr Helen Roy, from the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, added: "The freely-available, high-quality, information on the DAISIE website is key to underpinning decision-making on invasive alien species across Europe and beyond. The project is successful because a dedicated group of experts from across Europe take time to contribute, maintain and update the species information in DAISIE. This pan-European collaboration within the project is critical to addressing the threat of invasive alien species, considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity now and in the future."
The DAISIE inventory currently contains details of over 12,000 species: 986 aquatic marine, 669 aquatic inland, 2,740 terrestrial invertebrates, 400 terrestrial vertebrates, 6,658 terrestrial plants and 724 terrestrial fungi. Where impacts have been assessed, around 15% are known to cause economic damages and around 15% are known to cause harm to biological diversity.