Noxious Weed Information System (NWIS)

The California Department of Food and Agriculture
is developing a Noxious Weed Information System
(NWIS) to coordinate information on noxious weed
control in California. The NWIS is an integrated
central data clearinghouse, anchored by two
database systems. One database is a public forum
where governmental land managers can describe
their weed control projects and look for other
persons with similar concerns. It is also intended
as a source of information on weed biology and
control. This system will be available through a
World Wide Web site being developed at the
Information Center for the Environment at
University of California, Davis. The second
database system is intended for weed biologists
within the state and counties and will help them
inventory and map infestations of noxious weeds
and track eradication efforts. Each state
biologist and county will have a stand-alone copy
of the database at their field sites. The field
copies of the database coordinate with a central
database through FTP exchanges over the Internet.
A MapInfo GIS system accepts GPS positional
information on weed populations and controls
activities and provides maps of infestations.

The purpose of the database is to use FTP exchange and MapInfo GIS to help
California field biologists inventory noxious weed
infestations and track eradications.

Methodology Description:
The NWIS is an integrated central data clearinghouse, anchored by
two database systems. One database is a public forum where
governmental land managers can describe their weed control projects
and look for other persons with similar concerns. It is also intended
as a source of information on weed biology and control. This system
will be available through a World Wide Web site being developed at the
Information Center for the Environment at University of California,
Davis. The second database system is intended for weed biologists
within the state and counties and will help them inventory and map
infestations of noxious weeds and track eradication efforts. Each
state biologist and county will have a stand-alone copy of the
database at their field sites. The field copies of the database
coordinate with a central database through FTP exchanges over the
Internet. A MapInfo GIS system accepts GPS positional information on
weed populations and controls activities and provides maps of
infestations.

Supplementary Information:

Information for this metadata was taken from the
report - U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous
Plants Proceedings of the Workshop on Databases,
Gainesville, Florida, September 24-25, 1997.