Dear Colleagues,

The spread and ecological success of invasive species in terrestrial and marine ecosystems other than those of origin is currently a major environmental emergency and is considered by the international scientific community to be one of the main causes of biodiversity loss on a global scale. Invasive plants are non-native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants that are spread by global trade, human and animal transport, and escape from gardens. They invade forests and block out native plants from growing, which in turn decreases the available habitats for native wildlife. Many invasive plants cannot be used by wildlife for food, which puts grazing pressures on the few native plants that remain. They also pose threats to agricultural fields, due to their ability to spread quickly, outcompete crop and forest plants, and deteriorate soil quality. The thick spread of invasive plants makes them costly and time consuming to remove once they have taken hold. Over the last 30 years, the number of alien species has increased by 76%. Such a massive influx over a short period of time has significantly affected the ecosystems, especially the habitats already strongly and historically altered by humans and therefore more vulnerable. The effects of these real invasions are visible at various levels in terrestrial ecosystems: autotrophic/heterotrophic imbalance, the production of toxic and allelopathic substances, structural and chemical changes in the soil, the spread of pathogens, reduction in productivity, and an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Therefore, the uncontrolled spread of species introduced by man outside of their original range, in addition to the ecological consequences, has serious social and health repercussions and also produces an important economic impact estimated at over 12 billion Euros each year in the European Union alone.

Prof. Dr. Armando Zarrelli
Dr. Anna De Marco
Dr. Giovanni Di Fabio
Guest Editors

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• Management methods
• Impact on man and biodiversity
• Method of introduction or diffusion
• Biology and ecology
• Allelopathy
• Production of secondary metabolites
• Impact on other species