Abstract
Building and managing large datasets of alien species is crucial to research, management and control of biological invasions. To this end, the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) platform aggregates, integrates and harmonizes spatio-temporal data regarding alien species in Europe, including both invasive and non-invasive alien species. These data are stored in the EASIN Geodatabase after their harvesting from relevant sources in the frame of a global and European databases partnership and scientific literature. The ownership of the data remains with its source, which is properly cited and linked. The process of data harvesting is performed through the EASIN Data Broker system, which retrieves the information related to alien species data in Europe and stores them in a normalized database structure. Data are subsequently refined through validation, cleansing and standardization processes and finally stored in the EASIN Geodatabase. All data are finally visualized and shown in occurrence maps at different levels of spatial visualization. Analysis of the data contained in the EASIN Geodatabase through flexible web services offered by the system has already provided useful input in scientific works and policies on biological invasions. Data from European Union (EU) member state official surveillance systems, within the framework of the EU Regulation 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species, are expected to contribute to the update of the EASIN Geodatabase. In addition, data from citizen science initiatives will further enrich the Geodatabase after appropriate validation. In this article we describe and discuss the technical aspects, data flow and capabilities of the EASIN Geodatabase.
Highlights
There are more than 14,000 alien species that have been reported so far in Europe (Katsanevakis et al, 2015)
We demonstrate the approach, functionality, and technical background of the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) Geodatabase, which is the backbone of the EASIN
The EASIN Geodatabase hosts about 50 millions of alien species spatial data across Europe, all originating from a network of data sources, named as EASIN Data Partners (Table 1)
Summary
There are more than 14,000 alien species that have been reported so far in Europe (Katsanevakis et al, 2015). The EASIN Geodatabase for a coordinated set of actions to prevent, control, and mitigate the adverse impact of IAS on biodiversity and related ecosystem services, the European Parliament and the Council have adopted the EU Regulation no. A key component of the EASIN system is the EASIN Catalog: a comprehensive list of alien species in Europe, currently including information on more than 14,000 taxa in a wide range of environments. Both invasive and non-invasive alien species are included. For each alien species of the EASIN Catalog information is available on the year and country of the first record in Europe, alien status (alien, cryptogenic, questionable), native range, taxonomy, synonyms, common names, environment, pathways, vectors, and impact. Network, responsible for the collection, quality control, harmonization, integration, storage, visualization, and dissemination of large datasets on alien species in Europe, coming from various sources
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