An occurrence data set for invasive and naturalized alien plants in India

Area of Science:

• Ecology and Environmental Science
• Biodiversity Informatics
• Plant Taxonomy

Background:

• Invasive alien plant species (IAPSs) pose significant threats to India's biodiversity, ecosystem services, and economy.
• Existing global occurrence data, such as from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), are often incomplete for India, hindering effective IAPS management.
• Reliable occurrence data is essential for understanding IAPS distribution, predicting spread, and informing conservation strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compile a comprehensive dataset of occurrence records for invasive and naturalized alien plant species in India.
• To gather associated spatial and temporal information for each occurrence record.
• To make this curated data accessible, traceable, and updatable by users, contributing to the Indian Alien Flora Information (ILORA) database.

Main Methods:

• Extracted occurrence data from 3137 literature records and 357 herbarium sheets.
• Curated 20 variables per record using Darwin Core (DwC) terms and performed technical validation.
• Compiled a dataset of 12,347 occurrence records for 362 alien plant species, with a focus on invasive species.

Main Results:

• The dataset includes 12,347 occurrence records for 362 alien plant species (195 invasive, 167 naturalized).
• Invasive alien species constituted 73.7% of the collected records, while naturalized species accounted for 26.3%.
• This dataset supplements GBIF data by 60.39% and adds records for 64 previously underrepresented species.

Conclusions:

• The newly compiled dataset significantly enhances the available occurrence data for IAPSs in India.
• This resource is vital for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders involved in managing alien plant invasions.
• The open-access nature and provisions for user contributions promote collaborative data improvement for IAPS research and decision-making.