Colberg et al., 2024

Play it Smart: Climate-Smart Solutions for Invasive Species Management

Original research: Colberg, E. M., Bradley, B. A., Morelli, T. L., & Brown-Lima, C. J. (2024). “Climate-Smart Invasive Species Management for 21st Century Global Change Challenges.” Global Change Biology, 30, e17531. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17531

Summary:

This global review considers the ways that climate change and invasive species can interact to impact management plans, methods, and outcomes, and presents options to address these impacts. The management impacts of climate change and invasive species include 1) changes in which species are relevant to assess, monitor, and manage as ranges shift; 2) new pathways of introduction to monitor and regulate; 3) increasingly variable management timelines in response to shifting seasonal conditions and phenology; 4) reduced efficacy and feasibility of current treatment methods under novel climatic conditions; 5) new targets for restoration due to increasing vulnerability of native species and ecosystems; and 6) an increased need to incorporate invasive species management into extreme climatic event response plans. Climate-smart invasive species management recognizes and addresses these challenges, such as by incorporating climate-informed predictions of species range shifts into watchlists for early detection-rapid response action. This paper also highlights areas where policy and funding could support climate-smart invasive species management, such as cases where timelines for budgets and funding availability currently make it difficult for managers to respond to shifts in seasonal timing of suitable treatment conditions.

Keywords:

Concepts and Theory, climate adaptation, natural resource management, review, management efficacy and policy

Take Home Points:

• The interactions of climate change and invasive species pose challenges to invasive species management and ecosystem management more broadly. 

• “Climate-smart invasive species management” can help address these challenges, including rethinking common management goals and approaches.

Management Implications:

• One example of climate-smart invasive species management is to consider the potential impacts of climate change on range-shifting species during the prioritization of species for monitoring and treatment. 

• Considering the interactive effects of climate change and invasive species can open the door to new partnerships and funding sources such as those focused on climate adaptation and/or climate-smart restoration.

• For more climate-smart invasive species management ideas, check out Table 2 or the more detailed “Guidelines for Climate-Smart Invasive Species Management,” both of which include implications for funding and policy support. 

Want more? Check out these relevant summaries:

• NE RISCC Research Summary of Bradley et al. 2023. "What’s our policy? Include climate change!"

• NE RISCC Research Summary of Colberg et al. 2024. "What’s on the menu? Climate-smart invasive species management!"

• NE RISCC Research Summary of Mainka & Howard, 2010. "Climate change and invasive species: double jeopardy."

This research summary was written in collaboration with NE RISCC.