Sightings Map of Invasive Plants in Portugal

The dataset available through the Sightings Map of Invasive Plants in Portugal results from the Citizen Science platform INVASORAS.PT, which records sightings of invasive plants in Portugal (mainland and Archipelagos of Madeira and Azores). This platform was originally created in 2013, in the context of the project “Plantas Invasoras: uma ameaça vinda de fora” (Media Ciência nº 16905), developed by researchers from Centre for Functional Ecology of University of Coimbra and of Coimbra College of Agriculture of the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra. Currently this project is over, but the platform is maintained by the same team. Sightings are reported by users who register at the platform and submit them, either directly on the website (https://invasoras.pt/pt/mapeamento) or using an app for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pt.uc.invasoras2) and iOS (https://apps.apple.com/pt/app/plantas-invasoras-em-portugal/id1501776731) devices. Only validated sightings are available on the dataset. Validation is made based on photographs submitted along with the sightings by experts from the platform INVASORAS.PT team. As with all citizen science projects there is some risk of erroneous records and duplication of sightings.