The Joint ESENIAS and DIAS Scientific Conference and 10th ESENIAS Workshop entitled ‘Ten years of cooperation and networking on invasive alien species in East and South Europe’ was held on 7–9 December 2021, in virtual format.

The conference was organised jointly by: General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (GDFA), Turkey; ESENIAS; DIAS; Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, Demre, Antalya; Faculty of Agriculture, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University (COMU); Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBER-BAS), Sofia; Faculty of Science, Hacettepe University, Ankara; Association for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (SUEkos), Turkey; and European Weed Research Society (EWRS) Invasive Plants Working Group.

The conference was opened by Dr. Mustafa Altuğ Atalay, General Director of GDFA, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uludağ and Dr. Teodora Trichkova on behalf of ESENIAS and DIAS, and Mr. Akif Özkaldi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Turkey. The communications were presented within 10 oral sessions and 5 poster sessions, including two joint EWRS/ESENIAS Sessions and an IAS Citizen Science Session. The following topics were covered: 1) Invasive alien species (IAS) traits and trends; 2) Vectors and pathways for IAS introductions; 3) The Danube River as invasive alien species corridor; 4) Invasive alien species impact; 5) Invasive alien species prevention and management; 6) Management and sharing of IAS data; and 7) Other topics.

About 440 participants from 29 countries attended the conference. A total of 88 communications, including 11 keynote presentations, 37 oral presentations and 40 posters were presented and summarised in a Book of Abstracts. Selected full papers will be published after peer-review in the following journals:

• Turkish Journal of Agricultural and Natural Sciences (https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/turkjans) and
• Transylvanian Review of Systematical and Ecological Research (http://stiinte.ulbsibiu.ro/trser/).

The focus of the two joint EWRS/ESENIAS Sessions was to discuss and create a common understanding on weeds and invasive alien plants and improve the collaborative work and views between the two disciplines. Prof. Ahmet Uludağ presented the view of the EWRS IAS Working Group on invasive alien plant issues. Case studies from different regions as Israel, Pakistan, Slovakia, Turkey and UK, were presented and discussed.

The IAS Citizen Science Session was organised in collaboration with the COST Action CA17122 Increasing understanding of alien species through citizen science (Alien CSI) (https://alien-csi.eu/).The following topics were discussed: Who are the Citizen Scientists (CS)?; How can the scientific community reach CS?; How can scientists communicate with CS related to IAS?; Social media and CS; IAS CS activities: from the field to the lab – feasibility and obstacles; and Validation of information on IAS from CS. The participants highlighted the advantages of citizen science for detecting new IAS, and at the same time, identified some challenges as data validation issues, sustainability of project results, availability of IAS online platforms, communication between scientists, institutions and citizens, enough resources, COVID-19 pandemic, etc. Possible measures for improvement were proposed, including the involvement of state institutions and resources, involvement of national media, organisation of IAS BioBlitz campaigns, etc.

During the 10th ESENIAS Workshop, participants discussed future collaboration, IAS issues to be addressed at regional level and potential funding opportunities.

We express our sincere gratitude to the hosting institutions: the General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Turkey, and the Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, Demre, Antalya! We are extremely grateful to the local organising committee chaired by Dr. Mustafa Altuğ Atalay and co-chaired by Dr. Mahir Kanyılmaz, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uludağ and Mr. Serkan Erkan!

10th ESENIAS & DIAS Programme  >>>

10th ESENIAS & DIAS Opening  >>>

10th ESENIAS & DIAS Oral and Poster Session recordings  >>>

10th ESENIAS & DIAS Abstract Book  >>>