[APWG] WEB: CalWeedMapper - invasive plant mapping

[Olivia Kwong]

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CalWeedMapper is a new website for mapping invasive plant spread and 
planning regional management strategies 
(calweedmapper.calflora.org<http://calweedmapper.calflora.org/>). Users 
generate a report for their region that synthesizes information into three 
types of strategic opportunities: surveillance, eradication and 
containment. Land managers can use these reports to prioritize their 
invasive plant management, to coordinate at the landscape level (county or 
larger) and to justify funding requests. For some species, CalWeedMapper 
also provides maps of suitable range that show where a plant might be able 
to grow in the future. The system was developed by the California Invasive 
Plant Council (Cal-IPC, http://www.cal-ipc.org<http://www.cal-ipc.org/>) 
and is designed to stay current by allowing users to edit data.

The Calweedmapper website displays data on all 200 invasive plant species 
from Cal-IPC's statewide Inventory.  These data combine two sources: 
interviews with invasive plant experts and occurrence information from 
Calflora and the Consortia of California Herbaria (CCH). The maps show 
abundance, spread and management status for each species, displayed by 
USGS quadrangle.

Users can generate reports in pdf format based on a selected region or 
species. The Regional Management Opportunity Report provides a summary 
table of information for all plants that present opportunities for 
management in the selected region. The Regional Species Report provides a 
map that illustrates the plant's spatial distribution in the region. These 
reports are designed to help land managers prioritize and fund their work. 
Cal-IPC is working with several regions to develop strategic management 
plans using the information from CalWeedMapper. Contact us at mapping at 
cal-ipc.org<mailto:mapping at cal-ipc.org> for more information.

This dynamic tool allows users to comment on and update abundance, spread 
and management information.  Also, any new occurrence data submitted to 
either Calflora or CCH will update the data in CalWeedMapper.  As a 
result, the maps will show current information.

To show where a given plant is most likely to spread, CalWeedMapper also 
displays suitable range based on climate. Computer models were used to 
generate suitable range for some plant species based on where they 
currently grow. The maps show the areas that contain suitable range based 
on climate conditions in 2010 and 2050. These maps can help land managers 
with climate adaptation planning and preparing for the movement of new 
invasive plants into their region.