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Inventory, Mapping and Ranking (Assessment)

Identification and prioritization of species/infestations that threaten conservation targets or goals is the second step in the Adaptive Management Approach. To be cost-effective and efficient in utilizing resources, it is critical to know which plants exist and the extent of their occurrences. For the majority of public lands in Pennsylvania this information is limited and therefore, it will be necessary to take this step for the site under consideration. Not only will this information benefit management planning efforts for this site, but it will assist in filling in information gaps for the state's biodiversity. which has been identified as a priority action by the PA Biodiversity Partnership (Thompson, ed. 2002) for developing better biodiversity protection in PA.

Inventory and Mapping

Inventory can be described as a point-in-time measurement of the resource to determine location or condition. Without location and distribution information, park resource managers lack the critical tools required to develop a focused strategy for addressing invasive plant management issues. Specifically, alien plant inventory and mapping information can:

• Increase the ability of resource managers to analyze and prioritize invasive plant management needs and to appropriately direct work efforts and resources, enhancing the time and cost-effectiveness of invasive plant management actions.
• Serve as a baseline for long-term monitoring, and assist with the evaluation of changes in exotic plant populations over time and/or the detection of new exotic plant infestations
• Combine with other layers of information (e.g. soil types, depth to water table, elevations) which can assist in identifying appropriate treatment or control options as well as adding to the knowledge of ecological relationships associated with alien plant invasions (predictive modeling).
• Serve as a critical tool for increasing public and political awareness and education on invasive plant issues.

Inventory and mapping of exotic plants should be integrated with general vegetation surveys and surveys being conducted by other agencies and organizations. Data organized into maps and databases provide valuable information towards the development of a network-monitoring scheme. Ancillary uses of maps and data are for public education, development of predictive models and estimations of risk from various plant species. Goals and objectives for inventory and mapping should ensure products can serve the above purposes

Mapping is an important way to communicate inventory information. This tool provides a visual picture of how abundant a species is and how it is distributed across the landscape. When over-layed on a map of priority habitats or natural communities, one may be able to quickly evaluate the species that are priorities for control or eradication. Mapping can take many forms, everything from recording written information on a paper map to using GPS (global - positioning system) and recording in a mapping program such as GIS (global information system). However it is done, most invasive species practitioners are recommending that the North American Weed Management Association (NAWMA) standards are followed (see information below).

Ranking

Managing and controlling invasive exotic plants is difficult, expensive and requires a long-term commitment. Land managers have limited resources and so prioritizing efforts is critical. High priority should be given to those species that have substantial impacts on natural resources or on attainment of management goals and are believed to be easy to manage. High priority should also be given to those species that are not yet established or causing major impacts, but have the potential to do so. Low priority should be given to species that cause little impact, are virtually impossible to control, or both.

Ranking species according to the species level of impact and its innate ability to become a pest is an important first step in managing and controlling invasive plants. This information can be weighed against the perceived feasibility or ease of control. Several ranking or prioritizing systems have been designed to assist in separating the innocuous species from the disruptive species. The separation allows researchers to then concentrate further efforts on species in the disruptive category. These systems are also designed to identify those species that are not presently a serious threat but have the potential to become a threat and, thus, should be monitored closely and preventative steps taken.

Resources for Inventory, Mapping and Ranking

A number of widely used inventory, mapping, invasive plant assessment and ranking tools exist. We have presented brief summaries of some of those with location information for each. Instead of presenting one or two examples, we thought it most effective to have you review and decide which would be most applicable to your situation. There are more resources that exist and these are identified under "Additional Resources and Information" at the end of this section. For more information contact the institution identified.

Inventory and Mapping

Center for Invasive Plant Management - Guidelines for Coordinated Management of Noxious Weeds: Development of Weed Management Areas, Weed Survey and Mapping, http://www.weedcenter.org > Weed Management Areas > Guidelines for Coordinated Management of Noxious Weeds: Development of Weed Management Areas > Weed Survey and Mapping. Adapted from the Guidelines For Coordinated Management Of Noxious Weeds In The Greater Yellowstone Area. USDI - Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and National Park Service.

This document contains a section entitled "Weed Survey and Mapping". A thorough overview of the importance and relevance of surveying and mapping is provided. A key focus is on the various levels of surveying which are largely dependent on the objectives of the inventory. A discussion of mapping considerations, recommendations, criteria and protocol is also provided

Note: This resource is a useful overview of inventory and mapping. It is recommended that you visit this document before reviewing the following resources.

National Park Service - Invasive Species Monitoring Resources -

http://science.nature.nps.gov/ > Monitoring> Guidance for Designing an Integrated Monitoring Program > Invasive Species > Invasive Species Website (Invasive Species Monitoring Resources).

This is a website supported by the National Park Service as part of their Inventory and Monitoring Program. It contains hundreds of documents on inventory, monitoring and related subjects. Several documents that are found at this website are listed below.

National Park Service - Inventory and Monitoring for Invasive Plant Guidelines ,

http://science.nature.nps.gov/ > Monitoring > Guidance for Designing an Integrated Monitoring Program > Invasive Species > Invasive Species Website (Invasive Species Monitoring Resources) > Monitoring Guidelines > NPS Invasive Plant Inventory and Monitoring Guidelines - 2002

This document is organized into six sections. The first four sections address four goals for inventory and monitoring. The final two sections address special considerations for data management and data sharing, as well as communication and outreach. Each section identifies goals, objectives, guidelines and suggested approaches for the related topic. References, key documents, and a list of workshop participants can be found in the appendices. This document, reference material, workshop presentations, and workshop handouts are available at www.nature.nps.gov/im/monitor. The majority of the text for each section was drafted during the workshop and later edited by the workshop coordinator Ron Hiebert and an independent editor.

National Park Service - Mid-Atlantic Network Exotic Plant Management Team (MAN -EPMT) - MAN-EPMT: Exotic Invasive Vegetation Survey/Monitoring Protocols -

http://science.nature.nps.gov/ > Monitoring > Guidance for Designing an Integrated Monitoring Program > Invasive Species > Invasive Species Website (Invasive Species Monitoring Resources) > Monitoring Invasive Plants > MAN - EPMT: Exotic Invasive Vegetation Survey/Monitoring Protocols.

This document provides a detailed description of a survey and monitoring approach used by the National Park Service (See Monitoring). In addition, a step-by-step process and mapping procedure is included. Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of this document are the example data sheets and forms that are provided that can be modified for use by land managers in PA.

North American Weed Management Association (NAWMA) - North American Invasive Plant Mapping Standards

http://science.nature.nps.gov/ > Monitoring > Guidance for Designing an Integrated Monitoring Program > Invasive Species > Invasive Species Website (Invasive Species Monitoring Resources) > Monitoring Guidelines (General) > North American Weed Management Association (NAWMA).

NAWMA has created minimum standards for mapping weeds. The idea was to create standards that encouraged consistency so that information could be easily shared. Minimum standards address the most basic information to compare invasive species problems across agency, municipal, regional, state and federal borders. The rationale behind the minimum standards is to standardized the inventory protocol so that the information is useful and understandable amongst a large number of users, not just the person(s) mapping the information. By using the standards, the information collected can be incorporated with inventories serving other purposes, thereby widening the usefulness of the collected information. This multi-purpose approach to mapping is viewed favorably by funding agents.

Pennsylvania DCNR Invasive Species Management Plan, , http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us

There are a number of Survey and Detection programs that have been conducted in the state. Most have had a focus on invasive insect species that threaten forestry and/or agriculture. Refer to the section Survey and Detection under the website for more information.

The Nature Conservancy - Weed Information Management System (W.I.M.S.)

http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/index.html > Invasives and Control Methods > Weed Information Management System.

TNC's Weed Information Management System (WIMS) is a Microsoft Access-based relational database application that is designed to assist natural resource managers in managing their weed data. WIMS keeps track of three types of data records: weed occurrences (GPS point locations), assessments (size and status of the weed infestation to facilitate monitoring over time), and management treatments applied to those weed infestations. Data can be easily exchanged between multiple users, exported in NAWMA (North American Weed Management Association) standards, and written to shape files for mapping in any standard GIS program. A variety of reports can also be easily generated. Additionally, WIMS can be used on a handheld unit (either MS Windows-based Pocket PC or Trimble) with a GPS unit to capture data in the field. When using WIMS on a handheld unit with an ArcPad interface, a site manager can use background imagery and other GIS layers for mapping weeds, then upload the new data into the Access database.

TNC Weed Information Management System - Assessment Field Form - TNC Assessment

TNC has provided an example of a field form that includes a number of data fields that may be useful in developing field forms specific to your project. This field form includes all of the available data fields in the WIMS. The idea is not to use all of these fields, but to pick those that would be most applicable to your survey or assessment and then use those to develop your own data collection forms.

Ranking

National Park Service - Alien Plants Ranking System, , http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov > Resource Finder > Plants > Resource Management Techniques > Alien Plant Ranking System. Version 5.1, Cooperative effort of the National Park Service, Ripon College, University of Minnesota and the U.S. Geologic Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.

The Alien Plants Ranking System (APRS) is a computer-implemented system to help land managers make difficult decisions concerning invasive nonnative plants. APRS provides an analytical tool to separate the innocuous species from the invasive ones (typically around 10% of the nonnative species). APRS not only helps identify those species that currently impact a site, but also those that have a high potential do so in the future. Finally, the system addresses the feasibility of control of each species, enabling the manager to weigh the costs of control against the level of impact.

The system relies on a set of 23 questions (DataSheet) to be answered for each nonnative plant known to occur in (or near) the site of concern. The questions are organized into 3 sections. Section I, which addresses the current level of impacts to the site, must be based upon site surveys. Section II asks specific questions that give indications of the potential of the species to be invasive. For many alien plants, answers to these questions are available within the system (species FactSheets). If this information is unknown, and not available within the system, it should be obtained through library research. Section III poses questions that affect the feasibility (and costs) of control.

This system has been developed and tested primarily in grassland and prairie parks in the central United States. Using the system in other ecoregions may require modification. If you have comments or suggestions regarding any aspect of this ranking system, please direct them to Dr. Ron Hiebert (ron.hiebert@nau.edu.).

National Park Service - Handbook for Ranking Exotic Plants for Management and Control,

http://science.nature.nps.gov/ > Monitoring > Guidance for Designing an Integrated Monitoring Program > Invasive Species > Invasive Species Website (Invasive Species Monitoring Resources) > Prioritization Tools > Handbook for Ranking Exotic Plants for Management and Control. 1993. Hiebert, R.D. and J. Stubbendieck, Natural Resources Report NPS/NRMWRO/NRR - 93/08, USDI- NPS, Midwest Regional Office.

This Exotic Species Ranking System was developed to support general NPS and park-specific control methods giving high priority to species causing major impacts (and are easily controlled) and giving low priority to species causing little impact (and extremely difficult to control). Also, the system is designed to identify species that are currently rare and causing little impact but have a high potential to become a problem in the future. The document provides a useful discussion early on of why using an analytical approach is important. This system is one of the most widely used, to date, by resource managers.

NatureServe - An Invasive Species Assessment Protocol: Evaluating Non-native Plants for their Impact on Biodiversity, http://www.natureserve.org/index.jsp > Get Data > Plant Data for Download > Assessment Protocol. 2004. Morse, L.E., J.M. Randall, N. Benton, R. Hiebert and S. Lu.

NatureServe, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and the National Park Service, has developed a protocol for assessing, categorizing, and listing non-native plants according to their impacts on native biodiversity. The protocol is designed to focus specifically on the effects non-native species have on native plants, animals, and natural communities and to make the process of assessing non-native species objective, transparent, and systematic. The protocol is intended to be applied to species as they occur over large areas, such as nations, ecoregions, provinces, or states.

References:

Thompson, S., ed. 2002. Biodiversity in Pennsylvania: Snapshot 2002. Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership, Pittsburgh, PA.

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