Appendix 4: Scoring system for assessing the level of risk posed by alien species

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Appendix 4: Scoring system for assessing the level of risk posed by alien species

Questions		Risk scoring
		Low	Medium	High	Unacceptable
		0	2	5	20
I Reproduction &Dispersal mechanisms	1. Can the species be established in nature?	No	Yes
	2. What is the minimum generative time?	>=4 years	2-3 years	1 year
	3. Is the species able to reproduce asexually (or vegetatively)?	No		Yes
	4. Can reproductive parts be dispersed by wind, water, or animals such as mammals, insects and birds?	No	Yes	very far
	5. Is the species able to disperse fast in nature?	Not at all	Slow	Medium	Fast
	6. Is it likely to be dispersed unintentionally?	No	Yes	Easy
	7. Is it likely to be dispersed intentionally by people?	No	Yes
II Hereditary traits	1. Is the species genetically stable over 10 generations?	Yes			No
	2. Are there related local weed species or pest species?	No		Yes
	3. Are there closely related highly valued biodiversity species?	No	Yes
	4. Is cross pollination or breeding possible with local domestic or wild species?	No	Possible		Proven
III Undesirable traits	1. Is any part of the species (the seed, roots, stem, flower, fruit, and pollen, secretion, excretion, flesh or skin etc.) found to be toxic to wildlife, domestic animals or humans?	No		Yes
	2. Does the species have any inhibitive effects on other plants, eg. Phytotoxins?	No	Yes
	3. Is the species parasitic? Are there any potential hosts in China?	No		Yes
	4. Is the plant known to have negative effects on the environment? (soil, watershed, water table, air, microclimate etc.) ?	No	Unkown	Yes
	5. Is it able to occur at high density?	No	Yes
	6. Are there local species with similar feeding methods and food resources? Is the introduced species likely to become the competitor of these species?	No	Yes
IV Adaptability	1. Is it suited to any local climate?	No	Yes	Highly suitable
	2. Has it broad climate suitability?	Narrow	Medium	Broad
	3. Is it able to survive in degraded environments (for instance is it able to endure direct sunshine or polluted environments or grow on infertile soils)?	No	Yes
	4. Is it able to survive adverse conditions and reproduce rapidly when these become more favourable?	No	Yes
V Species type	1. Can it survive in water?	No		Yes
	2. Is it a grass?	No	Yes
	3. Can it fly?	No		Yes
	4. Is it micro-organism or virus?	No		Yes
VI Ease of Control	1. Can the species/plant be easily eradicated by artificial means?	Yes		No
VI Ease of Control	2. Are there effective natural enemies locally?	Many	Yes	Not at all
VII Invasive history	1. Are any close relatives of the species known to be alien invasives?	No	Unknown	Yes

The score of every single item reflects different aspects of risk posed by the organism in question and collectively indicate its potential to become an invasive pest. If the total score is more than 20 the organism should not to be introduced or released into the wild. If a species has 1 Unacceptable, 4 high, or 10 medium risks, its total score will reach 20 and it should not be introduced. Such species should go on the black list. Those species with a total score of less than 5 can be introduced (white list) and species with scores of 5~10 (grey list) should be restricted with regards to the objective of introduction, region, quantity and time. Those with total scores of 10~20 should, in addition, and be controlled and supervised after introduction and released only after successfully completing field release trials.