Influence of landscape and fire management on the distribution of invasive Acacia dealbata in a transboundary Biosphere reserve

Woody invasive alien species can alter ecosystem processes and functions (e.g., fire regulation), jeopardizing landscape resilience. Acacia dealbata is a widespread invader in Portugal and holds well-known fire-proneness traits with potential to modify fire regimes. This study analyzes how different landscape and fire suppression management strategies affect the future habitat suitability of A. dealbata in the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Gerês-Xurés. Land-use scenarios – Rewilding (RWild) and High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf) were combined with fire suppression scenarios – low, current, and high suppression – to predict the future habitat suitability for A. dealbata. The results show that habitat suitability will be higher in the RWild scenario with high fire suppression and lower in the HNVf scenarios with current and low fire suppression. These findings show that HNVf must be prioritized over RWild and proper fire suppression management is crucial to control the expansion of A. dealbata.

[Host: Joana Vicente, Invasion Science - InvasionS, Predicting and Managing Ecological Change - ECOCHANGE]