Abstract
The survey by foot in the field is compared to the survey from a car, the photo-interpretation of Google Street View (GSV) panoramas continuously and at intervals of 1.5 km and the photo-interpretation of Google Earth aerial images on a 10 km stretch of road in Sicily. The survey by foot was used as reference for the other methods. The interpretation of continuous GSV panoramas gave similar results as the assessment by car in terms of the number of species identified and their location, but with lower cost. The interpretation online of aerial photos allowed the identification of a limited number of taxa, but gave a good localisation for them. Interpretation of GSV panoramas, each of 1.5 km, allowed the recognition of twice as many taxa as the interpretation of aerial photos and taking half the time, but did not allow a complete localisation.None of these methods alone seems sufficient to carry out a complete survey. A mixture of different techniques, which may vary according to the available resources and the goal to be achieved, seems to be the best compromise.To further test the capabilities of the survey using the interpretation of GSV panoramas every 1.5 km along the roads, we proceeded to study the alien plants along 3500 km of the road network on the island of Sicily. This survey identified only 10% of the known species for the region, but allowed us to trace the distribution of invasive species whose distribution is currently poorly recorded.
Highlights
Alien plants are plants that have been transported by humans intentionally or accidentally outside their area of origin (Pyšek et al 2004)
It is well established that roads promote the dispersion of alien plants and have ecological impacts on many habitats modifying the microclimatic conditions of the area they pass through and the immediate vicinity (Wilcox 1989)
The relief interpretation of Google Street View (GSV) panoramas, each of 1.5 km, resulted in 10 taxa and the interpretation of Google Earth aerial images resulted in five taxa only (Table 1)
Summary
Alien plants are plants that have been transported by humans intentionally or accidentally outside their area of origin (Pyšek et al 2004). Scientific research on alien species in Italy, in recent years, has not been limited only to floristic notes, but has increasingly deepened the methodologies of analysis, the ecological impacts of aliens and their modes of dispersal (see, for example, Stinca et al 2013, Domina et al 2018b, Lozano et al 2019, Lazzaro et al 2020, Viciani et al 2020). It is well established that roads promote the dispersion of alien plants and have ecological impacts on many habitats modifying the microclimatic conditions of the area they pass through and the immediate vicinity (Wilcox 1989). Roadsides provide favourable conditions for the establishment and spread of alien invasive plants due to recurrent disturbance, more light and water (Parendes and Jones 2000, Christen and Matlack 2006). Some plant species invade nearby areas (Hansen and Clevenger 2005)
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