Planning and conducting field surveys of invasive alien species based on GIS

Abstract

Pre-planning plays a vital role in developing invasive alien plant surveys rapidly and conveniently in the field. This study combined survey technical standards of invasive alien plants and field survey planning methods based on GIS to develop a targeted field survey planning program. LocaSpace Viewer and Orvital maps, which provide rich map resources and powerful functions, were mainly applied. The detailed workflow was as follows: Firstly, the target areas for invasive alien plant field surveys were selected by integrating high-resolution remote sensing data and geographical annotation data in the LocaSpace Viewer; Secondly, according to standards of invasive alien plant field surveys, survey geographic grids, survey points, sample plots, standard-plots, and quadrats were established through the functions of spatial analysis and editing geographic elements in the LocaSpace Viewer, of which information were stored and shared in the KML format; Finally, positioning and navigation of survey points were implemented by Data Management and Navigation functions in the mobile terminal software of the Orvital map. Comparative experiments and applications of proposed technology and methodology have been carried out in Fujian, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces. Results suggested that the developed technology and methods for planning invasive alien plant surveys and field operations based on GIS technology can help to fulfill surveys in 6 sample points and collect more than 80 records per day. The direct distance of daily invasive alien plant survey is approximately 180 km. The navigation accuracy of survey points is better than 15 m. Planning-based surveys have double the time utilization rate of unplanned surveys. The technical route presented in this study greatly contributes to improving the efficiency of invasive alien plant surveys and provides powerful technical support for invasive alien plant survey in the field and insight into biodiversity field surveying.