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Controlling invasive, non-native plants is essential to the protection of Florida's biodiversity. Introduced species can displace native plants and animals, change the structure of natural communities, and impact the ecological functions of ecosystems.
To increase access to invasive species data, facilitate data management, and simplify data summary FNAI has helped to develop the iMapInvasives web application, a national, GIS-based, invasive species mapping tool. The core of the Florida iMapInvasives dataset is the Florida Invasive Plants Geodatabase (FLInv), a spatial database of invasive plant occurrences on all of the state’s public conservation lands which FNAI built starting in 2003. The FLInv database contains approximately 200,000 records compiled from data submitted by resource managers and supplemented by FNAI field surveys. FNAI hopes to continue to build on this dataset with submission of data to iMapInvasives. Biologists, land managers, amateur naturalists and all other interested parties are encouraged to join in this effort.
Please visit the iMapInvasives website for more information. Unregisted users can view basic plant distribution maps or register for a free account which will allow viewing of precise location data and submission of new data.
Benefits of online mapping of invasive species in iMapInvasives:
Florida Specific Resources
Please Note: FNAI shares Florida invasive plant data with the University of Georgia’s Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS), if you send data to FNAI or submit it to iMapInvasives, you don't have to submit it to EDDMapS too.
Viewing and Downloading Existing Data
Data collected as part of the FLInv project and subsequent efforts are available for viewing and download on the iMapInvasives website. For assistance please contact Frank Price, FNAI Data Manager.
Predicting the invadedness of protected areas An analysis of some the management implications of FLInv data published in Diversity and Distributions .
When is an acre "infested"? An article in Wildland Weeds describing the FNAI invasive plant mapping standards.
Lygodium Statewide Treatment Evaluation Report A report on treatment recommendations for invasive climbing ferns.
FNAI's invasive plant work is funded by the Invasive Plant Management Section within the Division of Habitat and Species Conservation of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.