PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #58: Invasive Species Control.
Thursday, August 8. Presentation from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Synthesizing and spatially linking disparate datasets .

Crosier, Catherine^*,1,2, Newman, Gregory¹, Stohlgren, Thomas^1,2, ¹ Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Fort Collins, CO² Midcontinent Ecological Science Center, Fort Collins, CO

ABSTRACT- Extensive surveys to obtain species distribution data are expensive and time consuming. In addition, many land managers do not know what species occur within their management boundaries, let alone adjacent to them. Yet, there is a wealth of data collected by government agencies and non-government organizations that, when synthesized, maximize the use of existing data on species locations without incurring large costs. We obtained datasets including species lists, plot data, transect data, point data, and individual species polygon data that have been collected using various methods at different spatial scales to meet different objectives. We then created a Microsoft Access 2000 database that relates these different datasets and allows us to use them in concert. The database was subsequently linked to ArcView 3.2 GIS. When combined and spatially linked, these data improve the completeness of each individual dataset. Species reported in a specific area by one dataset were not reported by a second dataset for the same location. The creation of a synthesized, spatially linked dataset allows development of predictive models and maps for the distribution, abundance, and occurrence of non-native species. These products can be used by land managers at all levels to aid in the detection, management, and control of non-native species.

KEY WORDS: Data synthesis, GIS, Non-native species