The nature of economic costs of biological invasions

• Published in: Biological invasions Vol. 24; no. 7; pp. 2081 - 2101
• Main Authors: Vaissière, Anne-Charlotte, Courtois, Pierre, Courchamp, Franck, Kourantidou, Melina, Diagne, Christophe, Essl, Franz, Kirichenko, Natalia, Welsh, Melissa, Salles, Jean-Michel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.07.2022; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Agricultural sciences; Agriculture, economy and politics; Biodiversity; Biological invasions; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Costs; Decision making; Developmental Biology; Ecology; Economic activity; Economic Costs of Biological Invasions; Economic impact; Economics; Economics and Finance; Ecosystems; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Introduced species; Invasive species; Life Sciences; Original Paper; Plant Sciences; Ecological damage; Economic costs; InvaCost; Invasive alien species; Assessment
• ISSN: 1387-3547; 1573-1464
• DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02837-z

The management of invasive alien species (IAS) is complex and requires consideration of intertwined ecological and economic dimensions. Given the wide variety of costing purposes and practices, and the associated risk of misunderstandings and/or miscommunication which may jeopardize perceptions and management, there is an urgent need to disentangle the nature of IAS costs. We provide a synthesis of the nature and diversity of the economic costs associated with IAS and the potential limits of their assessment. This work promotes a common understanding of costs of IAS across disciplines, which is essential for improving the estimation, interpretation, selection, and uptake of costs when designing IAS management policies or raising societal awareness of their threats. Our study contributes to a clearer understanding of the nature of costs, serving as a sound basis for managing biological invasions.