Open Access(358) A GIS Approach to Managing the Invasive Species of Texas
Author(s) -
William L. Spencer,
Jennifer L. Williams
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
hortscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.518
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2327-9834
pISSN - 0018-5345
DOI - 10.21273/hortsci.40.4.1028b
Subject(s) - invasive species , geography , listing (finance) , introduced species , infestation , ecology , biology , botany , finance , economics
The state of Texas consists of roughly 4800 species of vascular plants. In 1970, it was estimated that 200 of these were introduced species. By 2003, the number of introduced species almost doubled to 350. Using the Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Texas , a database was compiled listing the invasive species in Texas and which of the 254 counties they inhabited. This database was then converted into a GIS platform that allowed us to analyze those data spatially. With these data, we were able to calculate the actual number of invasive species per county. In addition, these data were used to predict possible points of invasive species introduction, the rate of spread for certain problematic species, routes of migration, and to isolate counties under threat of possible infestation.