<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>A questionnaire survey was carried out to examine the problems caused by invasive alien species (IAS) in Hungarian protected areas (PAs). Results from 144 PAs were evaluated and compared with a previous study of 21 European countries. In the European survey, the most important threats were habitat loss and fragmentation, Hungarian respondents put IAS in first place. Eradication, control and prevention were mentioned among the best strategies against invasive species in both surveys, but Hungarian PA managers emphasized the efficiency of habitat restoration and regulatory as well. Comparing the harmful animals and plants occurring in most Hungarian and European PAs, we found nearly 30% similarity. In most Hungarian PAs domestic cat (<italic>Felis catus</italic> Linnaeus, 1758) and black locust (<italic>Robinia pseudoacacia</italic> L.) were indicated as most harmful species. The results of our study draw the attention to the species, which are highly invasive in Hungary, but are missing from the European PAs list, therefore may pose a potential threat to other protected areas of Europe.</p></abstract>

A questionnaire survey was carried out to examine the problems caused by invasive alien species (IAS) in Hungarian protected areas (PAs). Results from 144 PAs were evaluated and compared with a previous study of 21 European countries. In the European survey, the most important threats were habitat loss and fragmentation, Hungarian respondents put IAS in first place. Eradication, control and prevention were mentioned among the best strategies against invasive species in both surveys, but Hungarian PA managers emphasized the efficiency of habitat restoration and regulatory as well. Comparing the harmful animals and plants occurring in most Hungarian and European PAs, we found nearly 30% similarity. In most Hungarian PAs domestic cat (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758) and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) were indicated as most harmful species. The results of our study draw the attention to the species, which are highly invasive in Hungary, but are missing from the European PAs list, therefore may pose a potential threat to other protected areas of Europe.

Occurrence and management of invasive alien species in Hungarian protected areas compared to Europe

Department of Botany and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Forestry

Folia Oecologica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

A questionnaire survey was carried out to examine the problems caused by invasive alien species (IAS) in Hungarian protected areas (PAs). Results from 144 PAs...

Occurrence and management of invasive alien species in Hungarian protected areas compared to Europe

Published Online: Nov 24, 2020

Page range: 178 - 191

Received: Jun 19, 2020

Accepted: Sep 09, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2020-0021

Keywords
European legalisation, invasive alien species, invasion list, protected areas, web survey

© 2020 Ágnes Csiszár et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Occurrence and management of invasive alien species in Hungarian protected areas compared to Europe

Published Online: Nov 24, 2020

Page range: 178 - 191

Received: Jun 19, 2020

Accepted: Sep 09, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2020-0021

KeywordsEuropean legalisation, invasive alien species, invasion list, protected areas, web survey

© 2020 Ágnes Csiszár et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
European legalisation, invasive alien species, invasion list, protected areas, web survey