Impacts of Invasive Species on Ecosystem Services

The impacts of invasive species on ecosystem services have attracted worldwide attention. Despite the overwhelming evidence of these impacts and a growing appreciation for ecosystem services, however, researchers and policymakers rarely directly address the connection between invasions and ecosystem services.Various attempts have been made to address the ecosystem processes that are affected by invasive species (e.g., Levine et al. 2003; Dukes and Mooney 2004), but the links between these mechanisms and ecosystem services are largely lacking in the literature. Assessments of the economic impacts of invasive species cover costs beyond those associated with ecosystem services (e.g., control costs), and generally do not differentiate by ecosystem service type. Additionally, while advances have been made in quantifying non-market-based ecosystem services, their loss or alteration by invasive species is often overlooked or underappreciated.