Reporting

How to Report an Occurrence and/or Share a Dataset

Data can be entered either as individual occurrences, or by uploading entire datasets. 

• To upload a limited number of occurrences, proceed to the main Occurrence Reporting page and enter information in the provided fields. Click on any of the field names for help.
• To upload an entire dataset, please proceed to the Upload Tool.  Additional guidance about uploading entire datasets is available here, or please contact BAEDN staff and we can provide assistance.  All datasets are appreciated; we will happily upload datasets that include populations of widespread species, as well as early detections.   

The BAEDN Database and Calflora

BAEDN’s Occurrence Reporting Database has been built by Calflora, an organization dedicated to providing information about California plant biodiversity. Calflora’s digital library is an important repository for information on California wild plants from diverse sources, with access to over 1 million plant records.  Data can be easily searched on the internet, and query results can be readily downloaded.

Definition of an Occurrence

An occurrence, for the purposes of the BAEDN database, is any occurrence of a non-native plant species.  All infestation reports are important; and reports of even widespread species are important for identifying which species, and which areas, offer the greatest return on rapid response investment.  It is also important in detecting “sleeper weeds”, whose populations are reaching the end of a lag period, and may start spreading rapidly.  Resources for response are limited and so not all reported infestations can be treated; populations are prioritized such that the smallest and most harmful infestations are treated first, and all invasive plant location information will help make the Priority Species list for rapid response more accurate.   

Downloading Data

All data within BAEDN are searchable and downloadable via Calflora. These are user-generated data, and the reliability of individual reports varies, as described here. All records do include a source.