Abstract
AbstractSpatial abundance information is a critical component of invasive plant risk assessment. While spatial occurrence data provide important information about potential establishment, abundance data are necessary to understand invasive species’ populations, which ultimately drive environmental and economic impacts. In recent years, the collective efforts of numerous management agencies and public participants have created unprecedented spatial archives of invasive plant occurrence, but consistent information about abundance remains rare. Here, we develop guidelines for the collection and reporting of abundance information that can add value to existing data collection efforts and inform spatial ecology research. In order to identify the most common methods used to report abundance, we analyzed over 1.6 million invasive plant records in the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS). Abundance data in some form are widely reported, with 58.9% of records containing qualitative or quantitative information about invasive plant cover, density, or infested area, but records vary markedly in terms of standards for reporting. Percent cover was the most commonly reported metric of abundance, typically collected in bins of trace (<1%), low (1–5%), moderate (5–25%), and high (>25%). However, percent cover data were rarely reported along with an estimate of area, which is critical for ensuring accurate interpretation of reported abundance data. Infested area is typically reported as a number with associated units of square feet or acres. Together, an estimate of both cover and infested area provides the most robust and interpretable information for spatial research and risk assessment applications. By developing consistent metrics of reporting for abundance, collectors can provide much needed information to support spatial models of invasion risk.
Highlights
With readily available and inexpensive global positioning system (GPS) units, spatial data describing the range and abundance of species are increasingly being collected and archived (e.g., Bargeron and Moorhead 2007)
Abundance data appear more strongly defined by state boundaries, with only a handful of agencies consistently including some form of abundance information (Fig. 1)
Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) was initially designed as an aggregate database for invasive species occurrence information, the majority of records (58.9%) contain information about abundance and/or infested area
Summary
With readily available and inexpensive global positioning system (GPS) units (including smartphones), spatial data describing the range and abundance of species are increasingly being collected and archived (e.g., Bargeron and Moorhead 2007). For invasive plants, contributed spatial data can inform habitat models and identify invasion risk (e.g., Bradley 2013). In the United States identified hotspots of vulnerability based on spatial occurrences of nearly 900 species, which were derived primarily from contributed datasets (Allen and Bradley 2016). At landscape scales, occurrence datasets are often used to understand how invasive plants are influenced by local disturbance and development (Vila and Iban~ez 2011). These spatial analyses improve our understanding of the climate conditions, land cover, and disturbance regimes that may make ecosystems more susceptible to invasive species establishment
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