Alien invasive species in protected areas in Southern Region of Brazil.

Abstract

Invasive Alien Species (IAS) have become the focus of major international conservation strategies due to the different negative environmental impacts they cause and that they could cause in the short, medium and long-term. The presence of IAS in Conservation Units (CU) has been documented in different regions of the world and the consequences may be devastating. Currently, Brazil has around 2,300 CU and approximately 460 IAS, many of them have been recorded in UC. Despite these records, in Brazil studies have been focused only on sporadic research and, normally, they do not explore issues related to the management of the problem in CU. The study aimed to perform an IAS survey in CU in the Southern Region of Brazil and to evaluate issues related to environmental management. For this, two methodological approaches were used: i) registration of IAS in management plans (complemented by managers’ reports); ii) thematic surveys applied to CU managers. We identified 87 IAS with 770 records in CU in southern Brazil, of which 54% and 46% were species of plants and animals, respectively. All managers confirmed the presence of some IAS in their units, although few identified as one of the main environmental management problems of their units. Few specific strategies for the management of IAS have been identified, and mostly directed to plant species. There are obviously present and future challenges in the management of IAS in CU that need to be addressed by environmental agencies.