Teodora Trichkova, Helen E. Roy, Anastasia Christopoulou, Frances E. Lucy, Harry Helmisaari, Argyro Zenetos, Marie-Anne A. Rozenberg, Hans Peter Ravn, Diemer Vercayie, Tim Adriaens, Gareth Richards, Anna Gazda, Donald Hobern, Sonia Vanderhoeven, Ioannis Bazos, Olivera Petrović-Obradović, Ana Cristina Cardoso, Melanie Josefsson, Annie Simpson, Aaike De Wever, Peter Desmet, Elena Tricarico, Riccardo Scalera, Alain Roques, Quentin Groom, Dragana Marisavljevic, Tomasz Oszako, Jan Pergl, Céline Prévot, Lucinda Charles, Botanic Garden Meise, Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO), Core Science Analytics, Synthesis, and Libraries Program, United States Geological Survey (USGS), Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology, Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Department of Ecology and Systematics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), EASIN, European Commission's Joint Research Centre, CABI Europe UK, Department of Forest Biodiversity, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability (CERIS), Institute of Technology Sligo, Institute for Plant Protection and Environment, Forest Research Institute, Department of Invasion Ecology, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), Faculty of Agriculture, Université nationale du Rwanda, DEMNA, Département de l’Étude du Milieu Naturel et Agricole, Service Public de Wallonie, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management [Copenhagen] (IGN), Faculty of Science [Copenhagen], University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Unité de recherche Zoologie Forestière (URZF), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Natuurpunt, nstitute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR), Belgian Biodiversity Platform, Walloon Research Department for Nature and Agricultural Areas, Research Institute for Nature and Forest, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens = University of Athens (NKUA | UoA), CERIS, Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability, Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (ASCR), and Unité de recherche Zoologie Forestière (UZF)
Science-based strategies to tackle biological invasions depend on recent, accurate, well-documented, standardized and openly accessible information on alien species. Currently and historically, biodiversity data are scattered in numerous disconnected data silos that lack interoperability. The situation is no different for alien species data, and this obstructs efficient retrieval, combination, and use of these kinds of information for research and policy-making. Standardization and interoperability are particularly important as many alien species related research and policy activities require pooling data. We describe seven ways that data on alien species can be made more accessible and useful, based on the results of a European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) workshop: (1) Create data management plans; (2) Increase interoperability of information sources; (3) Document data through metadata; (4) Format data using existing standards; (5) Adopt controlled vocabularies; (6) Increase data availability; and (7) Ensure long-term data preservation. We identify four properties specific and integral to alien species data (species status, introduction pathway, degree of establishment, and impact mechanism) that are either missing from existing data standards or lack a recommended controlled vocabulary. Improved access to accurate, real-time and historical data will repay the long-term investment in data management infrastructure, by providing more accurate, timely and realistic assessments and analyses. If we improve core biodiversity data standards by developing their relevance to alien species, it will allow the automation of common activities regarding data processing in support of environmental policy. Furthermore, we call for considerable effort to maintain, update, standardize, archive, and aggregate datasets, to ensure proper valorization of alien species data and information before they become obsolete or lost.