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Pensoft Publishers took part in the 14th International Conference on Biological Invasions (NeoBiota 2026) in Brussels, Belgium, between 7-11 September 2026. The well-established biennial series brought together researchers, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders from around the world to share cutting-edge scientific research on biological invasions.
Over five days, the conference covered the full arc of the field, from how alien species arrive and spread to what they do to ecosystems and to people. The conference sessions also tackled how risks are assessed and prioritised, and what management, policy and public engagement can realistically achieve.
Pensoft’s Presence
During the days of the conference, we showcased our journals’ portfolio and project materials from OneSTOP and other projects, which were of interest to the participants.
More specifically, Pensoft was represented with a booth showcasing the relevant journals such as:
- NeoBiota – publishes all disciplines interested in biological invasions, specifically on the ecology, evolution and biogeography of non-indigenous aquatic and terrestrial animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms
- Nature Conservation – publishes all disciplines interested in basic and applied conservation ecology and nature conservation in general at various spatial, temporal and evolutionary scales
- Biodiversity Data Journal – publishes biodiversity science containing taxonomic, floristic/faunistic, morphological, genomic, phylogenetic, ecological or environmental data on any taxon of any geological age from any part of the world
- Metabarcoding and Metagenomics – publishes on metabarcoding and metagenomics from both basic and applied aspects
- One Ecosystem – provides a forum for studies in the field of ecology and sustainability
- PhytoKeys – publishes in systematic Botany containing taxonomic/floristic data on any taxon of any geological age from any part of the world
- MycoKeys – publishes on the monophyletic kingdom Fungi containing taxonomic or ecological data on any taxon of any geological age from any part of the world
- ZooKeys – launched to support free exchange of ideas, data and information in all branches of Zoology
- Research Ideas and Outcomes – publishes all outputs of the research cycle, including: project proposals, data, methods, workflows, software, project reports and research articles
During the days of the conference, we met many project partners and journal editors. Indeed, Pensoft’s presence at the conference was significant, with a Pensoft NeoBiota editorial meeting held and the Pensoft Award for the Best Talk given by Ana Novoa to Rajat Rastagi at the closing ceremony of the conference.
The Highlights
Pensoft Editorial Meeting
On Tuesday evening, NeoBiota convened its editorial board to review the journal’s progress. The meeting highlighted significant developments, including increases in article submissions and continued improvement in the journal’s impact and reputation within the field.
Visiting Meise Botanic Garden
On Wednesday, meanwhile, we visited Meise Botanic Garden, the home of OneSTOP’s coordinators and the Plant Ecology and Evolution journal. The trip allowed us to meet some editors from the journal and talk to them about their plans and publications. In addition, the project OneSTOP was showcased, and the walk in the garden allowed participants to test OneSTOP’s web app for the identification of invasive species.
Notable Presentations
While the conference included numerous notable presentations, Joana Vicente’s keynote Prioritisation in the Age of Invasion Science: From Risk Ranking to Adaptive Governance, is especially worth mentioning. Joana represented BIOPOLIS-CIBIO, one of OneSTOP’s partners, and showcased OneSTOP’s work in prioritisation. The key takeaway was as follows:
“Prioritisation should not be a one-off ranking of species but an ongoing, adaptive process built into how invasions are governed”.
Another important session was one on Friday morning, where Quentin Groom (coordinator of OneSTOP and author, reviewer and subject Editor in Biodiversity Data Journal, NeoBiota, One Ecosystem) presented the importance of developing an early-alert system for invasive alien species in the session – From prototype to infrastructure: building a cross-realm European alert system for invasive alien species.
During the session, he showcased how such a system would help the management of IAS and highlighted the work that has already been done for its development by OneSTOP and its sister project GuardIAS.
The Takeaway
NeoBiota 2026 has closed, but the work of limiting the spread and impact of invasive alien species does not pause between conferences. We met many project partners and editors from journals, and talked about the next steps in the science of biological invasions.
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