Invasion Syndromes: transforming the understanding and management of biological invasions

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Mark van Kleunen
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 570576966

Globalization is accelerating the introduction of plant species to regions beyond their natural biogeographic boundaries. Some of these introduced species (alien hereafter) become invasive (i.e., establish and spread over substantial distances), having dramatic impacts on biodiversity and nature's contributions to people and human well-being. Over the last 60 years, invasion scientists have been trying to understand which, where and how alien plants become invasive. This information is crucial to tackling alien plant invasions and potentially mitigating their impacts. However, the generalizations formulated to date rarely hold over large scales in terms of space, time, or species, and experts argue that alien plant invasions can only be understood in the specific context in which they occur. We suggest that this idiosyncrasy is only seemingly valid and that overcoming it can change the paradigm of biological invasions and transform the approaches currently used by policymakers and practitioners for addressing their management. To this end, InvaSyn proposes three key steps. First, we argue that a deeper understanding of the mechanisms driving alien plant invasions has been jeopardised by decades of research mainly focusing on ecological and environmental drivers, while overlooking the human contributions to invasion events at large scales. Thanks to the use of new conservation culturomic approaches, we will obtain data that was previously difficult to access in order to characterise human factors, and understand the patterns behind human interest, value, and knowledge towards alien plant species. Second, moving away from the unrealistic aim of formulating generalizations for all types of alien plant invasions, we will use the invasion syndromes approach to identify groups of invasions that are similar in terms of species traits, performance, impacts, the environmental characteristics of the natural and recipient ecosystems, but also for human context newly acquired through the first step. And finally, we will co-develop response options with stakeholders following a transdisciplinary approach to allow for more efficient and sound management from an integrated socio-environmental perspective. We are convinced that this paradigm shift and the deeper consideration of human perspectives will open up new opportunities for transforming the way we understand, plan and implement the management of biological invasions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Israel, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan
• Partner Organisation: Agencia Estatal de Investigación; Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO); Department of Science and Innovation (DSI); Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais; National Science and Technology Council (NSTC); Technology Agency of the Czech Republic; The Israel Science Foundation; The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS)
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Tom Bauler, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Michele Dechoum; Professorin Dr. Anke Fischer; Dr. Ana Novoa Pérez; Professor Dr. Petr Pysek; Professor Dr. David Richardson; Professor Dr. Uri Roll; Dr. Hugo Sanet; Dr. Vernon Visser; Professor David Zeleny, Ph.D.