Page 22 - Landscape-Issue155

FEATURE

iNATURALIST: LANDSCAPING

AND REHABILITATION TOOLS

By Georgina van Biljon, Intaba Environmental Services, with input from Dr T Rebello and Dr P Holmes.

iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/ is a recording and identification app for the
natural world of plants and animals. It is an open-source platform, free of adverts
and developed by a non-profit organisation supported by private funding and user

donations.

ue to its research potential, it is that are needed for a plant to flourish.
used by many people (often known In addition, projects can be created for
Das citizen scientists) as well as a specific location on iNat, for example
conservationists, reserve managers and within the boundaries of a farm. Photos can
scientists. It also provides useful information then be taken, the observations uploaded,
for landscaping and ecological restoration and iNaturalist will automatically include
applications. There are nearly four million and summarise the data. This will provide
users of iNaturalist (iNat) with a total of 270 a species list that can be used for local
million observations worldwide; 6.5 million landscaping, restoration, marketing and
observations by 48.5 thousand observers eco-tourism purposes.
have been recorded in southern Africa to With regards to ecological restoration,
date. it is necessary to know the distribution of
locally indigenous species – those found
Useful tool: Possibly more reliable nearby - in order to make a rigorous list for
than AI restoration work. iNat is the ideal tool to
When taking photos of a plant or creature quickly compile such a list.
(with a location) and uploading it onto Plant species lists for a specific
iNat, there is an automated species location can also be developed
identification tool (the computer vision through resources such as the National
model) which provides identification Vegetation Map of South Africa
suggestions. This applies to any species (https://www.sanbi.org/biodiversity/
with over 100 observations, as already foundations/national-vegetation-map/.
identified iNat observations are used to National VEGMAP has developed a
train the identification tool. Consequently, citizen science project on iNaturalist
all common species are readily identified. Capturing an observation on iNaturalist to create a central place for photos
For groups where species cannot easily that represent the vegetation types
be identified from photographs, a higher of South Africa. This appears under
taxon level (genus or family) is suggested. Scientific species names Community>Projects; search for VEGMAPhoto, click on Add
change from time to time, but iNat automatically updates name changes Observation and add your photo under a selected vegetation type.
when they occur, and retains the old names for reference purposes. It https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/vegmaphoto-s-afr/journal/16639-instructions.
also allows manual identification by common names, but this is not as
reliable as they are not as vigorous as scientific names. An example is The bigger picture : Contributing to science
‘Taaibos’, the common name for many species in the Searsia genus with iNaturalist observations contribute to research hosted on the Global
over 111 species, so it is not possible to narrow this name to species level. Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) which tracks observations, new
Observations on iNaturalist are classified as ‘casual’ (i.e. planted, not discoveries and changes over time that can be linked to climate change,
natural), ‘needs ID’, or ‘research grade’ based on the number of agreed the spread of alien invasives and changing land use practices.
identifications. All observations are open for other people to make One can also participate in the City Nature Challenge
comments and identifications. There are many specialists active on the https://www.citynaturechallenge.org/ during April, or the Great
site, so iNaturalist is a great way to get to know the community of people Southern Bioblitz in spring. The City Nature Challenge in 2025 resulted
in any particular group, be it for dung beetles, flies or orchids. These in 3.2 million observations of 73 thousand species by 106 thousand
specialists add value by confirming identifications and flagging new and people over four days (25-28 April) from 669 cities in 62 countries.
undescribed species. Organisations that use iNaturalist in South Africa include CREW
(Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers – a network of
Applications for iNaturalist volunteer-based botanists – and SANPARKS, Cape Nature, BirdlifeSA,
Understanding our natural world, especially the identification of plants, EWT, SANBI, NCC, and it is a requirement that all environmental impact
is key in landscaping and ecological restoration. assessments must record their species on iNaturalist.
By selecting filters, one can explore species’ distribution by displaying By adding more observations and identifications, we improve
all observations on the map in iNaturalist, and focussing on an area (e.g. the database for scientists, horticulturalists, landscapers and citizen
West Coast, Wellington or Waaihoek) or a group (e.g. plants, proteas or scientists – that is you!
King Proteas).
If plants are well recorded in an area, one can assume they For further information on ecological restoration principles
are adapted to those environments and there is potential to visit the Society for Ecological Restoration www.ser.org
understand the distribution, habitat, soil and climatic conditions https://www.ser.org/page/SERStandards

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