Global Impacts Dataset of Invasive Alien Species (GIDIAS)

We present the Global Impacts Dataset of Invasive Alien Species (GIDIAS), a global dataset of 22865 records including impacts of invasive alien species on nature, nature’s contributions to people, and good quality of life. Records include positive and negative impacts, neutral impacts (studies were carried out, but no impacts were documented), non-directional impacts (i.e., change without detriments or benefits for native species or people), and finally, some records of alien species where no studies were found that assessed their impacts (indicating data gaps). Records cover 3353 invasive alien species from all major taxa (plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, microorganisms) and all continents and realms (terrestrial, freshwater, marine). The data were compiled to serve as robust evidence for chapter 4 “Impacts of invasive alien species on nature, nature's contributions to people, and good quality of life” of the global assessment report on invasive alien species by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES; available on Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7430731).
The dataset is provided in a machine-readable CSV file (file name GIDIAS_20250417_machine_read.csv), with special language characters retained where used (UTF-8 format). The dataset is also provided in Excel format (file name GIDIAS_20250417_Excel.xlsx). Metadata is provided in Excel format, including descriptors for each variable (file name GIDIAS_metadata_20250417.xlsx). Additional explanations for GIDIAS is stored in Microsoft Word format (docx) and contains (1) a short description of the principles of Environmental and Socio-Economic Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT, SEICAT), (2) a description of the variables included in the Global Impacts Dataset of Invasive Alien Species GIDIAS, and (3) a compilation of the search strategies and datasets included in the Global Impact Dataset of Invasive Alien Species (GIDIAS).