2026-11-04 –, Beavis
An iterative process was absolutely necessary in the creation of the Important Plant Areas, a data product by the California Native Plant Society. Automated open-source GIS made this iterative process financially affordable, efficient, and exactly reproducible.
With California’s 30x30 initiative in full swing and the dire need to conserve and protect more of California’s native plant habitats, the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is in the throes of utilizing GIS to find and delineate Important Plant Areas in California.
The process of delineating Important Plant Areas in California has proven to be anything but a straight line. As it goes, not everything can be foreseen and planned for when dealing with a complex GIS process, multiple sets of data, and scientific need for methodological changes halfway through a massive project. Frequently, we needed to go back several steps, or even go back to the very begining of the process, and do it again. Instead of approaching this manually, we have created a script architecture that takes us from A to Z.
The role of automated open-source GIS has been crucial in this iterative process. Foremost, it has made the project much more financially affordable for the nonprofit spearheading the effort. It also made the iterative process relatively easy, and exactly reproducible.
This gargantuan effort – lead by CNPS and masterminded by a team of expert scientists, is in partnership with GreenInfo Network, a non-profit GIS consultancy.
Dariya Draganova is a GIS Analyst and Developer with GreenInfo Network. She's currently working on a number of ongoing projects: California's 30x30, California's Important Plant Areas, the California Protect Areas Database (CPAD) and the California Consevation Easement Database (CCED), and the Conservation Lands Network.