Inventory and Survey Methods for Nonindigenous Plant Species (PDF)

Chapter 9 • Coarse-Scale Mapping: The Section or Quadrangle-based Methodbasic information on the presence or absence ofspecific NIS within their county. If they replythat any of the target NIS are present in theircounty, then a hard copy of a map is created forthe county. The hard copy is then mailed to thecounty weed supervisor along with instructionsand a spreadsheet. The county weed supervisoris responsible for supplying and/or coordinatingthe collection of information regarding thetargeted NIS for all lands within their county(private, city, state, and federal). The countyweed supervisor fills out the spreadsheet byinputting the number of acres present (accordingto North American Weed ManagementAssociation standards [NAWMA 2003], and usingtheir definition of “infested acreage”) withina particular 9,000-acre quarter-quadrangle foreach species. This information is then sent toColorado Department of Agriculture to be inputinto the GIS database. A few counties simplysend in their GIS data layers to be merged withthe Colorado Department of Agriculture’s GIS datalayers. Maps depicting the statewide distributionand abundance are then created for each target specieson a statewide level based on the informationsent in by county weed supervisors. On the online maps,each block of color represents that the 9,000-acre area isinfested (Figure 3). The number of infested acres within eachquarter-quadrangle for each NIS is represented by differentcolors: lighter colors for lower acreages, to darker colors forgreater acreages. The black patches are infestations that havebeen successfully eradicated since the initial mapping. Thefew counties that do not report are shown with a crosshatchpattern over the county.All completed species maps can be found on the ColoradoDepartment of Agriculture, Noxious Weed Program,QuarterQuad Survey Web page, at http://www.ag.state.co.us/CSD/Weeds/mapping/QuarterQuadSurvey.html. TheTable 1. Equipment required for implementing a quarter-section-based mapping program such as the one administered by PowellCounty, Montana.Equipment Example PurposeComputerStore dataGIS software ESRI ArcGIS 9 or ESRI ArcView 3x Capture, store, manage spatial dataSpreadsheet ordatabase softwareDigital spatial layersColor printerPlotterPersonnelOffice/computerequipmentMicrosoft Excel or AccessAdministrative layers (counties, towns,transportation routes)Environmental layers (rivers, lakes)County weed supervisorPaper, pens, printer/plotter inkcartridges, envelopes/stamps, etc.▲ Figure 3. Example of a quarter-quadrangle survey map of leafyspurge (Euphorbia esula) distribution and abundance in Colorado.Enter, store, manage tabular dataCreate maps for capturing and displaying NIS data. Many stateshave digital data clearinghouses online that have spatial layersavailable for download.Print 8½ by 11-inch maps for distribution to local land owners/managersPrint poster-sized maps for display and managementAdminister and manage mapping project, generate maps,contact land owners/managers, manage spatial data (computermanagement and GIS skills required)Print maps, mail maps to cooperators, back up digital data68Inventory and Survey Methods for Nonindigenous Plant Species