Integrate Climate Change into Invasive Species Strategies

Changing environmental conditions profoundly affect ecosystems. One of the greatest challenges of responding to climate change is the unknown effect of climate change on ecosystems that are already stressed by human impacts. Climate change can make indigenous species more susceptible to disease, competition, and other threats. It can also make environmental conditions more hospitable to alien invasive species. For example, warmer winters have enabled the spruce bark beetle to devastate the vast and ancient Tongass National Forest.

ELI is improving management of invasive species in order to avoid the degradation of ecosystem services and to maximize investments in invasive species management in the context of a changing climate. Impaired ecosystem services lead to loss of revenue and require expenditures for monitoring or control efforts. By ensuring the robustness of management and policy decisions, ELI works to strengthen resilience of ecosystems and reduce the economic impacts of species invasions associated with climate change. ELI is working to prepare solutions to this challenge. In 2008, ELI authored Effects of Climate Change on Aquatic Invasive Species, recommending ways in which states can consider climate change in their aquatic invasive species management plans.

This work on integrating climate change into invasive species strategies is carried out by ELI's Invasive Species Program.