Abstract

Invasive Species Monitoring: Using GIS Technology to Improve Project Success
Track: Parks and Natural Reserves
Authors: Ingrid Hogle

The California Coastal Conservancy's San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project is tasked with monitoring 50,000 acres of marsh and mudflat and coordinating the eradication of all invasive Spartina found. Spartina is a cordgrass which grows in tidal areas. Non-native species have hybridized with native to create highly invasive hybrids that alter the hydrology and vegetation community within the tidal zone. We use ArcPad in the field and an ArcGIS workgroup license in the office to achieve patch-level monitoring of invasive plant locations and treatment. This technology becomes increasingly important to help locate and ensure treatment of any regrowth as treatment success improves. Mapping results show an estimated net acreage reduction from 800 to 100 net acres in 5 years. Our success is in part due to improvements in efficiency and accuracy which we have gained through customization of ArcPad forms and by using a versioned, multi-user workgroup geodatabase.