Ricerc@Sapienza

Sustainably managed non-native trees deliver economic and societal benefits with limited risk of spread to adjoining areas. However, some plantations have launched invasions that cause substantial damage to biodiversity and ecosystem services, while others pose substantial threats of causing such impacts. The challenge is to maximise the benefits of non-native trees, while minimising negative impacts and preserving future benefits and options.

Although research on human-mediated exchanges of species has substantially intensified
during the last centuries, we know surprisingly little about temporal dynamics of alien species
accumulations across regions and taxa. Using a novel database of 45,813 first records of
16,926 established alien species, we show that the annual rate of first records worldwide has
increased during the last 200 years, with 37% of all first records reported most recently
(1970–2014). Inter-continental and inter-taxonomic variation can be largely attributed to the

We present the EU LIFE PonDerat project, which is aimed at restoring the natural ecosystems of the Pontine Archipelago, a group of islands located off the western coast of Italy. The spread of invasive species is a major environmental threat on these islands, which are rich in rare habitats and endemic species and are important sites for the conservation of Mediterranean biodiversity. The project focuses on the conservation of species and habitats that are protected by EU laws but are currently threatened by introduced plants and animals.