Assessing the interaction of invasive species invasion risks and ecosystem services: Spatial heterogeneity and landscape mediation in Hubei, China

The impacts of invasive alien species (IASs) on ecosystems are complex, and thus quantifying the impacts on ecosystem services (ESs) is crucial for prevention and control. In this study, the distributions of 29 IASs and six key ESs were quantified based on 1716 field survey sites in Hubei Province, China. We combined a species distribution model and an ecosystem service quantification model to analyze the interaction between IAS invasion risk and ESs. The results were as follows. (1) The invasion risk of integrated IASs showed a characteristic spatial heterogeneity distribution pattern of higher levels in the east and lower levels in the west, with marked differences in the spatial distribution of IASs. (2) The invasion risk of IASs had a negative correlation to 83.33% between ESs. (3) The districts and counties that showed spatially significant correlations between IASs and ESs accounted for about 51.46% of the province, and these districts were mostly located in the mountainous and hilly areas in the south-east and west of the study area. (4) Forest land and wetlands were the landscape components that played major roles in the conflict areas. Research indicates that IASs and ESs exhibit significant spatial correlation, with areas demonstrating pronounced spatial correlation predominantly distributed across the mountainous and hilly regions of Hubei Province. The optimization of the landscape composition of the region is a pivotal means of controlling the impacts of regional IASs, as well as improving the supply of regional ESs, with particular emphasis required on forest and wetland landscapes. The findings offer insights into the prevention and control of regional IASs, a basis for ecosystem conservation, as well as a reference point for IAS research on ESs. • Quantified invasion risks of 29 alien species and 6 key ecosystem services via 1716 field sites. • Significant IAS-ES correlations found in 51.46% of districts, primarily in southeastern and western mountains. • Forests and wetlands were key landscapes mediating IAS impacts on ESs. • Optimizing regional landscape composition is pivotal for controlling IAS impacts and improving ES supply.