The recorded economic costs of alien invasive species in Italy

Phillip J Haubrock , Ross N Cuthbert , Elena Tricarico , Christophe Diagne (1) , Franck Courchamp (2) , Rodolphe E Gozlan (3)

1 Université Paris-Saclay
2 ESE - Ecologie Systématique et Evolution
3 UMR ISEM - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier

Whilst the ecological impacts of invasion by alien species have been well documented, little is known of the economic costs incurred. The impacts of invasive alien species on the economy can be wide-ranging, from management costs, to loss of crops, to infrastructure damage. However, details on these cost estimates are still lacking, particularly at national and regional scales. In this study, we use data from the first global assessment of economic costs of invasive alien species (InvaCost), where published economic cost data were systematically gathered from scientific and grey literature. We aimed to describe the economic cost of invasions in Italy, one of the most invaded countries in Europe, with an estimate of more than 3,000 alien species. The overall economic cost of invasions to Italy between 1990 and 2020 was estimated at US$ 819.76 million (EUR€ 704.78 million). This cost was highest within terrestrial habitats, with considerably fewer costs being exclusively associated with aquatic habitats and management methods, highlighting a bias within current literature. There was also a clear indication of informational gaps, with only * Contributed equally as the first authors.

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

Phillip J Haubrock, Ross N Cuthbert, Elena Tricarico, Christophe Diagne, Franck Courchamp, et al.. The recorded economic costs of alien invasive species in Italy. NeoBiota, 2021, 67, pp.247 - 266. ⟨10.3897/neobiota.67.57747⟩. ⟨hal-03410329⟩