Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:35:24.361Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
Accepted manuscript

A simplified method to detect and monitor alien plant species with invasive potential through citizen science: an application from the European Union-funded LIFE medCLIFFS project volunteers data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2024

Carlos Santana
Affiliation:
Internship student, Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB), CSIC-CMCNB, Passeig del Migdia s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Arnau Bosch-Guiu
Affiliation:
Project technician, Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB), CSIC-CMCNB, Passeig del Migdia s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Carlos Gómez-Bellver
Affiliation:
Project technician, Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB), CSIC-CMCNB, Passeig del Migdia s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain;
Jordi López-Pujol*
Affiliation:
Tenured scientist, Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB), CSIC-CMCNB, Passeig del Migdia s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain & Escuela de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Espíritu Santo (UEES), Samborondón 091650, Ecuador;
Neus Nualart
Affiliation:
Herbarium curator, Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB), CSIC-CMCNB, Passeig del Migdia s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
*
Author for correspondence: Jordi López-Pujol; Email: jlopez@ibb.csic.es
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Citizen science is becoming very useful in surveying and monitoring biodiversity. Within the European Union LIFE medCLIFFS project, a network of volunteers has been established for the detection and long-term monitoring of invasive plant species that threaten the endemic flora of Mediterranean cliffs in north-eastern Spain. Through iNaturalist, volunteers record various data along a series of 1 km transects. Based on the ca. 700 observations collected by volunteers in 2023 (the first year of the project), a simple and visually-attractive methodology for assessing the recorded populations has been developed. This method classifies populations into one of three population dynamics categories: (1) propagative behavior (i.e., populations with seedlings or young plants but lacking senescent or dead individuals); (2) senescent behavior (i.e., showing senescent/dead plants but lacking seedlings/juveniles); and (3) a mixed behavior (i.e., containing both). This methodology, whose outputs are easily interpretable as heatmaps, allows the collection of large datasets on invasive plants by citizen scientists, with two main purposes: (1) knowing which species are most concerning based on simple, straightforward observations of their population dynamics; and (2) identifying which regions of the study area are more problematic and, thus, where management efforts should be directed.

Type
Note
Copyright
© Weed Science Society of America, 2024