England's Non-native Species Audit
During 2005 a desk-based exercise was undertaken by Natural England (then English Nature) to collate information on the occurrence of non-native species in England.
The exercise distinguished those that are already increasing, or considered likely to increase, from others that do not currently appear to be invasive. All multicellular organisms were included, as well as a few micro-organisms.
Data were collated on a number of attributes for each species including date and pathway of introduction, native range, present geographical distribution etc. An assessment of impacts of each non-native species was also made from information in the literature, where available, or through expert opinion.
The main product is a tabulation of 2721 species and hybrids, although the audit generally concentrates on the 1413 species and hybrids selected to be of most significance.
The audit of non-native species and assessment of their actual and potential impacts acts as a baseline for defining and prioritising work on non-native species for conservation benefit. It is contributing to a Great Britain perspective of non-natives and will be a useful comparison for future assessments of the presence of non-natives species in England.
Audit of non-native species in England
The data assembled for the audit are available as a spreadsheet - English non-native species audit: (2.11mb)
