Factsheet for the Invasive species programme management course

Many invasive plants are successful by producing large numbers of seeds easily transported by wind, water and animals. However invasions are started almost exclusively through the actions of people.

We are a diverse bunch of people in the Pacific region, which spans about one third of the earth's surface and encompasses about half of the global sea surface. Natural enemies can be used to restore natural balance between weeds and the environment by introducing the enemies where they are needed.

Positive relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) highlight the importance of conserving biodiversity to maintain key ecosystem functions and associated services. Although natural systems are rapidly losing biodiversity due to numerous of human-caused stressors, our understanding of how multiple stressors influence the BEF relationships comes largely from small experimental studies.