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International study: Sustainable land management as a key for combating biological invasions
The introduction of animal and plant species into new regions by humans is increasing rapidly worldwide. Some of these alien species, such as the grey squirrel, have a far-reaching impact on nature as they displace native species. An international research team led by Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) and Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research, Germany, has now discovered that there are significantly fewer alien species in areas of Indigenous Peoples than in comparable other natural areas. The study was published in the journal “Nature Sustainability”.
Thousands of plant and animal species are now resident in regions outside their native range because they have been introduced by humans. “Some alien species become a problem for native species – as predators, competitors for food and habitat or carriers of diseases,” explains biodiversity researcher and lead author of the study Dr. Hanno Seebens from University of Giessen, Germany. The researchers investigated whether fewer alien species are found in areas managed by Indigenous Peoples compared to other regions. Indigenous Peoples represent ethnic groups, which settled in these regions long before the arrival of Europeans – for example the Native Americans, the Aborigines of Australia or the Sami in Scandinavia.
Worldwide, 28 percent of the land surface is inhabited by Indigenous Peoples, with the majority of these areas located in remote regions of the world. Many of these areas are of enormous importance for the conservation of biodiversity, as they are often located in biodiversity hotspots such as the Amazon basin or wilderness areas in the Arctic. “In areas managed by indigenous populations, the loss of biodiversity is significantly lower, as these natural areas are used more sustainably”, says Dr. Aidin Niamir, co-author of the study from the Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research in Frankfurt.
The researchers analyzed millions of data points on the distribution of alien plant and animal species. “The results were very clear”, says Niamir. “In areas of Indigenous Peoples, we found a third fewer alien species than in comparable areas.” The researchers attribute this enormous difference primarily to more sustainable land use, a higher proportion of forests and a lower accessibility for humans.
“The results show that sustainable land use makes a huge contribution to preventing the spread of alien species”, says Seebens. “Indigenous Peoples usually use their lands traditionally and sustainably. Our study makes it clear that protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples is also essential for the protection of biodiversity – for example in areas such as the Amazon region or in Southeast Asia, where the overexploitation of forests is a massive problem.”
In addition to the research team from Giessen and Frankfurt am Main, researchers from Austria, Hungary, the USA and Australia were also involved in the study.
Founded in 1607, Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU) is a research university with a long-standing tradition which attracts around 25,700 students. Apart from the wide range of subjects on offer ‒ extending from classical natural sciences, law and economics, social and educational sciences to linguistics and cultural studies it offers a selection of life science subjects that is unique not only in Hesse: human and veterinary medicine, agricultural, environmental and nutritional sciences and food chemistry. The leading personae who carried out research and taught at JLU include a number of Nobel Prize winners, such as Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901) and Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace Prize in 2004). Since 2006 JLU has been receiving continuous funding from German central and state governments in the Excellence Initiative and the Excellence Strategy.
The Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (Senckenberg Nature Society), a member institution of the Leibniz Association, has studied the “Earth System” on a global scale for over 200 years – in the past, in the present, and with predictions for the future. We conduct integrative “geobiodiversity research” with the goal of understanding nature with its infinite diversity, so we can preserve it for future generations and use it in a sustainable fashion. In addition, Senckenberg presents its research results in a variety of ways, first and foremost in its three natural history museums in Frankfurt, Görlitz, and Dresden. The Senckenberg natural history museums are places of learning and wonder and serve as open platforms for a democratic dialogue – inclusive, participative, and international. For additional information, visit www.senckenberg.de.
Dr. Hanno Seebens
Department of Animal Ecology & Systematics
Justus Liebig University Giessen
Phone: +49 641 99-35701
E-mail: hanno.seebens@allzool.bio.uni-giessen.de
Seebens H, Niamir A, Essl F, Garnett ST, Kumagai JA, Molnar Z, Saeedi H, Meyerson LA (2024) Biological invasions on Indigenous Peoples’ Lands. Nature Sustainability
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-024-01361-3
The grey squirrel from North America is currently spreading in Europe and displacing the Eurasian re ...
Photo: Tim M. Blackburn
It has spread from North America to many regions of the world, where it changes forests: the robini ...
Photo: Franz Essl
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