Invasive Species Presence

AUS-ASP-AGR-ISP General Moderate confidence

Benchmark Value

No specific value — see range

Range: 0 to 0 %

Thresholds: Lower: 0, Upper: —

Optimal Range: 0 to 0

Direction: Lower is desirable ↓

Form: CompositeFramework

Scoring Curve

Scoring curve unavailable

The scoring engine could not generate a curve for this benchmark context. The primary form is CompositeFramework, but the benchmark data may be missing required fields (e.g., optimal range bounds for an OptimalRange benchmark). This is typically a data quality issue in the benchmark pipeline.

Evidence & Context

The final benchmark is presented in the required format below, followed by a detailed analysis of the ecological context, benchmark derivation, and the functional range of the indicator, including evidence-based detrimental thresholds for key invasive species.

Metric Definition:

Presence or absence of invasive species populations that exert a measurable negative influence on ecosystem processes or agricultural productivity.

Benchmark Definition:

Functional Absence is defined as a state where invasive species populations are managed to levels so low that they do not exert a measurable negative influence on ecosystem processes or agricultural productivity in arid shrublands under agricultural crop production.

Justification:

This benchmark is derived from the best available proxy case study of successful landscape-scale regeneration in a comparable semi-arid environment, due to a lack of direct quantitative data for arid cropping systems.

Sources (1)

Final report - MLA, accessed July 19, 2025,

Queensland Government target of 70% late dry season ground cover for grazing lands 13

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Supporting Sources (2)

Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.

Invasive species and their impacts on agri-ecosystems - CSIRO PUBLISHING | The Rangeland Journal, accessed July 7, 2025

Direct Evidence Journal

Ranking buffel: Comparative risk and mitigation costs of key ..., accessed August 28, 2025

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New pasture plants intensify invasive species risk - PMC - PubMed Central, accessed August 6, 2025,

Direct Evidence Journal

Impacts and management of feral horses in the Australian Alps Submission 25 - Parliament of Australia, accessed on May 25, 2025,

View Source

Context

Region Australia
Biome Arid Shrublands & Stony Plains
Land Use Agricultural Crop Production
Assessment Conservation Target
Evidence Type TargetCondition

Lifecycle

Status Active
Version 1
Effective From 21 Mar 2026

Notes

The benchmark is qualitative, reflecting Functional Absence as the ideal state. The literature does not support a lower critical threshold or optimal range for damaging invasive species. Upper detrimental thresholds exist for key species such as European Rabbit (≥0.5 per hectare), Buffel Grass (establishment of dense swards), and Athel Pine (establishment along watercourses).

Related Benchmarks

Other benchmarks in the AUS-ASP-AGR-ISP family.