Invasion of the Himalayan hotspot by Acacia farnesiana: how the human footprint influences the potential distribution of alien species

The invasion of alien species in their non-native range has resulted in inevitable consequences. Thus, the potential distribution of alien species must be delineated to anticipate and reduce their negative effect on native ecosystems. The potential distribution can be predicted using invasive species distribution models (iSDMs). Thus far, few studies have investigated the human influence on the distribution of alien species when modelling their potential distribution. In the present study, we predict the potential distribution of Acacia farnesiana in the Himalayan hotspot using a popular iSDM. The effect of human influence was studied by comparing the potential distribution predicted using only bioclimatic variables and that using both bioclimatic and human footprint variables. We found that using both bioclimatic and human footprint variables, the potential distribution of target species could be 55.38% larger than that of using only bioclimatic variables. This proves the positive effect of human activities on distribution of invasive species. Among the six considered bioclimatic variables, the mean temperature of the coldest quarter, the precipitation of the coldest quarter, and temperature seasonality are the most influential factors in determining the potential distribution of A. farnesiana.