OpenStreetMap
... a year ago I would have never guessed OSM would turn me into a botanist: http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/changeset/8234306
This particular area was overwhelmingly comprised of the homogeneous genus and species of plant. Not sure how to area areas which have a mix of plant types.
Discussion
Comment from Sanderd17 on 24 May 2011 at 11:47
maybe somehing like
genus:50% = ganzania
genus:30% = ...
I know this is done by biologists (not the tagging, but the usage of percentage): they throw a square meter in the area and then count what part of the surface is taken by what kind of plants.
Comment from Hawkeye on 24 May 2011 at 19:55
Hi aharvey,
I'm interested to record taxonomic and habitat infomation too. I would suggest looking at this page http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:taxon
I would record taxon:35%=Ganzania rigens . Useful to remember that percentage cover can add up to over 100% because there are multiple layers/canopies within a habitat. Another method which is common, DAFOR (Dominant, Abundant, Frequent, Occasional, Rare) which is often quicker to record and less need for a meter square or measuring an area. taxon:D=Ganzia rigens
I've been working on a wiki for recording habitats (bare bones at the moment) http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Habitat
Comment from Hawkeye on 29 May 2011 at 12:18
Testing this further for an area e.g. wood, you could try tagging cover:Ganzania=10%
otherwise, using taxon or genus:30%= won't work if there are two species with 30% coverage. The value has to be unique. I have updated the taxon page to reflect this.