Economic loss of ecosystem services caused by two invasive macrophytes of wetland ecosystems in Argentina

ZILIO, MARIANA I.; SÁNCHEZ RESTREPO, ANDRÉS; GERVAZONI, PAULA; MINUTI, GIANMARCO; MUZÓN, JAVIER; MCKAY, FERNANDO; SOSA, ALEJANDRO

Puerto Iguazú

Simposio; XVI International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds; 2023

FUEDEI

Invasive alien plants are responsible not only for the loss of biodiversity, but also for causing direct and indirect damage to productive activities. Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig (Zingiberales: Zingiberaceae) and Iris pseudacorus L. (Iridaceae) are currently invading different biomes of Argentina. This work estimates the economic loss inecosystem services due to H. coronarium and I. pseudacorus in Argentina, using benefit transfer methodology for the current distribution of these species. Potential distribution of both species was estimated performing a correlative ecological niche model using a maximum entropy method. Then, we estimated the area currently invaded by H. coronarium and I. pseudacorus in Argentina using the percentage of occupation of each species reported for Iguazú National Park and Punta Lara Natural Reserve respectively. Using a benefit transfer methodology and value coefficients weighted according to expert opinions, we determine the impact degree for different ecosystem services (freshwater supply, regulation of water flows, nutrient cycling, pollination, biological control, habitat refugia, erosion prevention, nursery service, genetic diversity, recreation and cognitive information) in four biomes (coastal systems, inland wetlands, freshwater lakes and rivers, and tropical forest) where these invasive plants are present. The impact of both species on ecosystem services was considered “negligible”, when impact degree was lower than 20%; “low” when up to 30%; and “moderate” when it reached 50%. Our results indicate a current estimated loss of ecosystem services value that ranges from 44.3 to 217 million USD/year for H. coronarium, and 530.9 to 4,037.9 million USD/ year for I. pseudacorus using an ecological niche suitability above 0.8 and 0.6, respectively. Our results shed light on the magnitude of the potential economic impact of invasive plants on ecosystem services. We recommend that economic losses in ecosystem service values due to invasive plants be estimated more often and incorporated into the decision-making process to prioritize weed management strategies, including biological weed control.