Ejemplos de gestión de especies exóticas invasoras en la provincia de Cádiz

Abstract

Biological invasions are a major cause of biodiversity loss and a problem of increasing magnitude that demands effective and efficient management actions. Some examples of invasive alien species management conducted in the province of Cadiz in 2009-2011 by the Ministry of Environment are presented here. The cases represent different management strategies, including early detection, eradication, containment and control of well-known invasive species such as Carpobrotus spp, Asparagus asparagoides, Arctotheca calendula, Oenothera drummondii, Tradescantia fluminensis, Procambarus clarkii and Gambusia holbrookii. The selected habitats (preferably coastal dunes and cliffs, and wetlands) are protected areas, habitats of EU interest, threatened or scarce environments. We here describe the methods used, the assessment of the degree of success and effectiveness of actions based on the analysis of indicators measured during monitoring. In general, removal of invasive plants led to increased diversity and the returned coverage of native vegetation in the treated plots compared to the invaded ones. Elimination of Carpobrotusspp.showed the best recovery results. Regarding the fauna, the novel use of keepnets (in the case of crayfish) and horizontal nets (for mosquitofish) have been proved to be useful and effective to maximize the catch-per-unit effort. These examples may guide future actions concerning invasive species management