Gis Applications in Agriculture:Invasive Species

While many "alien" plant and animal species are purposefully introduced into new areas as ornamentals, livestock, crops, and even pets, these species can escape into other areas and threaten agricultural and native ecosystems causing economic and environmental harm, or harm to human health. Increasingly, scientists are using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to track and manage the invaders, mitigate the potential rate of spread and level of impact, and protect the native economy and ecosystem.

Beginning with an introduction to the use of GIS technology to capture, store, analyze, manage, and present data, GIS Applications in Agriculture, Volume Three: Invasive Species examines five relevant categories of geographic information including dispersal and transport, prediction and forecasting, mapping of current infestations, maps for management and control tactics, and impact assessment and method of control. It address GIS for studying the population ecology of a new species, niche requirements for species success, and the monitoring and control of several different species including Australian examples of intentionally introduced invasive species, insects and other animals that may also vector a disease, and invasive weed management from prediction to management.

Chapters cover maps and imageries available on various Web sites and provide step-by-step tutorials or case studies that allow manipulation of datasets featured on the accompanying CD-ROM to make maps, perform statistical analyses, and predict future problems. It offers hands-on experience with a variety of software programs that create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data and maps, and present the results of these operations in several different formats. Some of the programs are freeware, others are not, but each can be used to integrate, edit, share, and display geographic information. Color figures are also available on the CD-ROM.

The Editor:

Sharon A. Clay, PhD., is a professor of weed science at South Dakota State University where she has research and teaching responsibilities. She received a B.S. degree in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1977, an M.S. degree in Plant Science from the University of Idaho in 1983 examining barley variety sensitivity to various herbicides, and a Ph.D. in Agronomy from the University of Minnesota in 1987 where she examined weed management in wild rice production systems of northern Minnesota.

She has conducted weed management studies in range and cropping systems that include corn, soybean, wheat, barley, wild rice, flax, and sunflower, as well as studies in weed physiology and site specific weed management strategies. Dr. Clay has published over 100 scientific articles and has served on the editorial boards for Agronomy Journal, Weed Science, and Site-Specific Management Guidelines. Dr. Clay has served on numerous national committees and review panels and has active memberships in, and has served as president of the SD Chapters of the honorary societies Sigma Xi and Gamma Sigma Delta. She served as the chairperson of the Agricultural Systems division in the American Society of Agronomy, participated in numerous ASA committees, was elected to ASA Fellow in 2009, and has held several positions in the Weed Science Society of America.