LITMIR.BIZ

      Figure 4 Distribution map of Vespa velutina nigrithorax in Europe at 10 km ×10 km grid level, from EASIN data. Picture: Didier Descouens – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26722179.

      IAS are also considered by the EU Framework Directive for the evaluation of 'good ecological status' of freshwaters (Directive 2000/60/EC)²⁰ and by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive under Descriptor 2 (non-indigenous species) (Directive 2008/56/EC)²¹. Farmers are sometimes actively involved in monitoring and management of IAS, even if not regulated by law, such as Fallopia japonica, Japanese knotweed, like it happens, for example, in Ireland (Teagasc Invasive Alien Species Working Group).

      Specific professional groups of farmers are more directly involved in detection and control of IAS. This is the case of the Asian hornet, Vespa velutina, which sees an active role of beekeepers in many EU countries in detecting the presence of the invasive insect, which preys on honeybees, deploying a network of sentinel hives provided with hornet-traps (e.g. interregional network in northern Italy: http://www.stopvelutina.it/nord-italia-nasce-lover-la-rete-di-sorveglianza-per-la-velutina/).

      Many LIFE and Interreg projects in Europe (e.g. LIFE STopVespa, LIFE Invasaqua, LIFE Asap, Interreg Invalis, Interreg ACECA, http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index. Cfm, https://www.interregeurope.eu/invalis/, https://camaloteaceca.eu/?page_id=347) are also dedicated to the monitoring, eradication and management of invasive alien species in different environments, or restoration activities which entail the removal of IAS, for example, weeds or invasive plants, preserving natural areas and protecting agriculture from their further spread.

      The environmental DNA (e-DNA) is progressively being used to detect the presence of IAS, for example, Procambarus fallax f. virginalis, Pseudorasbora parva, Vespa velutina (Takahashi et al., 2018), while many sequenced genomes are already available in gene banks (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/), including for Lithobates catesbeianus and Heracleum mantegazzianum.

      A great potential for early detection of IAS and provision of massive data is offered by the contribution of volunteer citizens through Citizen Science, nowadays a consolidated activity, which favours citizens’ awareness and active engagement in IAS management. A repository of Citizen Science projects in Europe which target alien species is available in EASIN (https://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/easin/CitizenScience/Projects). Following this line, JRC has developed a smartphone application called ‘Invasive Alien Species Europe’ allowing citizens to report species of Union concern across Europe, where species list, identification factsheets, and guidelines are kept up-to-date (http://digitalearthlab.jrc.ec.europa.eu/app/invasive-alien-species-europe). Data gathered via the App, after validation, are uploaded and available through EASIN geodatabase.

9Other monitoring approaches

      The monitoring frameworks presented in this chapter do not represent the only sources of information on biodiversity currently available, but those for which regular updating is either in place or planned.

      The Biodiversity Information System for Europe (BISE, https://biodiversity.europa.eu/info) provides information at the European level in relation to the Biodiversity targets for the European Union, and as regards data it collects and makes available data sources, statistics and maps related to land, water, soil, air, marine, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, energy, land use and transport. Most of these data are made available under projects or programmes that do not foresee a regular update.

      A structured approach to farmland monitoring is a main outcome of the BioBio Project²². The authors Geijzendorffer et al. (2015) and Herzog et al. (2012), starting from the assumption that no single all-inclusive index for biodiversity can be devised²³, proposed a framework composed by 15 indicators that describe genetic, species and habitat diversity in farmland. The indicators set is a result of thorough scientific screening and testing in 12 case-study regions with various farm types and farming systems across Europe, as well as regular stakeholder consultation (Herzog et al., 2012).

      Such framework can be used as a reference versus the EU-wide monitoring efforts to check what data gaps are and what should still be improved. Table 4 briefly summarizes BioBio indicators, with the exclusion of farm management indicators.

Table 4 BioBio indicators (source: Herzog et al., 2012)

      Species diversity is the category in which efforts at the EU level are more advanced and going in the right direction. Plants, pollinators and soil organisms are covered by monitoring efforts either already in place or under development. To these, birds and butterflies must be added, and the progress on the European bat indicator is worth mentioning

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