A systems perspective: How social-ecological networks can improve our understanding and management of biological invasions

Fiona Sophia Rickowski , Florian Ruland, Örjan Bodin, Tom Evans, Mike Fowler, Lotta Kluger, Guillaume Latombe, Bernd Lenzner, Rafael Macedo, Tim Adriaens, Robert Arlinghaus, Gustavo Castellanos-Galindo, Jaimie T.A. Dick, James Dickey, Franz Essl, Belinda Gallardo, Sabine Hilt, Yuval Itescu, Ivan Jaric , Sophia Kimmig, Lohith Kumar, Ana Novoa, Francisco J. Oficialdegui, Cristian Pérez-Granados, Petr Pyšek, Wolfgang Rabitsch, David Richardson, Nuria Roura-Pascual, Menja von Schmalensee, Florencia Yannelli, Montserrat Vilà, Giovanni Vimercati, Jonathan Jeschke

Reversing biodiversity loss and the sustainability crisis requires approaches that explicitly consider human-nature interdependencies. Social-ecological networks (SENs), which incorporate social and ecological actors and entities as well as their interactions, are such an approach. SENs have been applied to a range of complex issues, such as sustainable resource use, management of ecosystem (dis-)services, and collective action. However, the application of SENs to the field of invasion science has remained limited so far, despite their clear potential for studying introduction pathways of non-native species, invasion success, direct and indirect impacts, and improving their management. Specifically, we (1) review past applications of SENs to biological invasions, (2) provide guidance on how to construct and analyze such networks, and (3) outline future opportunities of using SENs in invasion science. Our article aims to inform and inspire the applications of SENs to improve our ability to meet the diverse challenges facing invasion science.