A database of alien plants present in Sicily and Malta : a comparison between two close Mediterranean islands with a common management plan

Abstract

The development of a common database of alien plant species present in Sicily and Malta is one important target of the FAST project funded under lnterreg V-A Italia-Malta 2014-2020 call 2/2019. The project, in full coherence with European strategy for the protection of the biodiversity, will counteract the introduction, naturalization and spread of invasive alien species (IAS) that damage the natural and seminatural environments in Sicily and in Malta by means of: (i) their recognition and categorization within priority's scale; (ii) their control and/or eradication in some Natura 2000 sites; (iii) the identification and management of pathways and the means of introduction and dispersal; (iv) the data processing of guidelines and adoption of best practices and (v) education and environmental awareness by several means of communication. [excerpt]