DVW - priority species list of the Flemish Waterways Authority

Study Extent

The checklist covers invasive alien species that are of interest for the Flemish Waterways Authority and contains species present or not yet present (alert species) within their operating region.

Sampling

Initially, a comprehensive list of all observed alien plant species in the Flemish Region is created, along with species that are likely to be introduced. The climatic suitability of each species in Flanders, both currently and under expected climate scenarios, is assessed through 'climate matching'. Remaining species are evaluated for potential invasive behavior and their possible impact on the operations or infrastructure of The Flemish Waterway nv. The resulting list represents the priority species for The Flemish Waterway NV. This approach leverages both scientific knowledge and expert input, utilizing published species lists and data from open and available databases, supplemented with criteria pertinent to The Flemish Waterway, including an analysis of establishment potential under current and future climate conditions.

Method steps

1. The source data for this standardized checklist can be consulted on https://github.com/inbo/dvw-target-list/blob/main/data/raw/input_taxa.csv.
2. This source data is versioned on GitHub (https://github.com/inbo/dvw-target-list). See https://github.com/inbo/dvw-target-list for an introduction to this repository and the mapping of this dataset.
3. We developed a versioned RMarkdown script (https://github.com/inbo/dvw-target-list/blob/main/src/dwc_mapping.Rmd) to document and perform the transformation of the data to Darwin Core, which includes the following steps:
4. Retrieve nomenclatural information for the scientific names in the checklist and correct them if needed.
5. Generate stable and unique identifiers for each taxon (taxonID).
6. Create a versioned Darwin Core taxon core file (http://rs.gbif.org/core/dwc_taxon.xml): https://github.com/inbo/dvw-target-list/blob/main/data/processed/taxon.csv.
7. The file is uploaded to the INBO IPT and documented with metadata.
8. The dataset is published and registered with GBIF.

This checklist includes 60 alien plant species.

1. Plantae
   common name: plants rank: kingdom

This checklist covers invasive alien species that are of interest for the Flemish Waterways Authority. This geographical coverage is Flanders, but the list also contains species that do not yet occur in this area.