There are four web pages in the Plant Atlas web site that
allow Parabotanists to enter data and work with data that resides in the main
Plant Atlas database. As a Parabotanist, you have permission, accessible by
password, to enter new data, edit data that was entered earlier, list your
data, and read and write to the Bulletin Board. You also have some tools to
assist you, such as the Plant Name Finder, direct links to Atlas Squares at
Topozone.com, and Search the Database. These tools are accesible from the home
page.
When you are working with the forms on the web pages, you
are interacting with the Plant atlas database. You are adding new data or
editing existing data. On occasion, you may encounter an error resulting from
some internal problem among the computers that are handling the data.
Generally, the best advice is simply to try again. If you encounter a
consistent problem, please report the problem and any error messages you may
get to the Plant Atlas staff.
If you are a novice computer user, be assured that you can’t
do any harm to the database by making errors on these web pages. You can close
any page at any time and start over again. The database will assure that you
don’t enter duplicate specimen numbers, that your longitude and latitude is
consistent with the reported square, and other details.
To reach the data pages, you will be asked to log in. The log in will then enable you to go to any of the pages and to navigate from page to page without further logins. You should log out when your work is complete for the session, but you don’t have to. You will be automatically logged out after 30 minutes of inactivity.
Click on a link below
to go to the specific instructions:
Rare, Threatened, Endangered (Special Status) Plants
Map services to find your location
When you click the Parabotanist LogIn link from the Home
Page or from the SDNHM web site, you will be directed to the page shown above.
The message and the links at the bottom will not appear until you have logged
in. Enter your assigned initials and password into the text boxes and then click the
button. You may then click on any of the links at the bottom of the page to go
to that specific data page. Once on the data page, you may use the links on
those pages to navigate among the data pages. Your login information will be
retained. If you are inactive for over 30 minutes, you will be logged out. You
will get no message to that effect, but when you use the data page you will be
redirected back to this log in page to log in again.
The New Data entry form is set up in two sections. The top
section holds information that is likely to be common for a collection event. When
you add each specimen’s data, this top section will remain with the data you
entered for the first specimen so you don’t have to enter it for each specimen.
However, you can change it at any time.
There are a number of conditions that are checked by the
program as you enter data. If your data violates one of these conditions, an
error message will appear as in the example below. When an error message
appears, simply click OK and correct the problem before attempting the entry
again.
|
Entry |
Instructions |
|
Date |
Enter the date you collected the specimen or specimens by
selecting from the drop-down boxes |
|
|
Enter the Square.
(example: A3, G14) |
|
Locality |
Describe the location with reference to roads, landmarks, natural
features, etc. If on a slope, indicate which direction the slope faces.
Describe the location well enough for another person to find it using these
directions. |
|
Others in Team |
Enter name(s) of people who were with you |
|
Vegetation |
Enter the type of vegetation in the vicinity of the
collecting area. Name specific plants if you like. Max size is 255 characters |
|
Geology |
Enter the soil type if you know it, and other details
about the terrain in the vicinity of the collecting area. Max size is 255
characters. |
|
Elevation |
Enter the elevation if you know it. If you don’t, leave
the zero in the box. Click on either the feet
or meters button to indicate the
units your data is in. All elevations will be converted to meters in the database. |
|
Latitude Longitude |
Your latitude and longitude can be in either of two
formats: Degrees-Minutes-Seconds, for example
32° 46’ 25” Decimal degrees, for example 32.77361° Set your GPS unit to
one of these two formats, or set the Topzone map to one of these two formats.
You cannot enter other formats, such as degrees and decimal minutes, for
example 32° 46.41’ Do not put a minus sign in the longitude. Enter your latitude and longitude in the three left boxes
if it is in deg/min/sec format and in the single box on the right if it is in
decimal degrees format. Your latitude and longitiude will be checked to make sure
the format is OK, that it is within the county, and that it is within the To assist, you may click on the link to TopoZone.com. Follow the instructions
on the page you are directed to. TopoZone will appear in a separate new
window on your screen which you may minimize and keep open for use during
your session. |
|
That completes data
entry for the collecting site. This data will remain as entered and will be
entered with each specimen you enter in the session. However, you can change
these entries at any time. |
|
The next section on the New Data entry form is for entering
the individual specimens. Each time you enter a specimen, these data entry
boxes will be cleared. If you open the Name Finder to help you find or spell
plant names, the Name Finder will open in a separate window that you can keep
open, perhaps minimized, during the session. You can copy and paste from the
Name Finder into the data entry text boxes.
|
Entry |
Instructions |
|
Specimen Number |
Required.
Enter the integer number you have assigned to the particular specimen
in your collection. These must be integers. They must be unique (no
duplicates) except that a number may be used more than once if you include a
suffix in the following box. In this entry you may not include the suffix,
that is, you cannot enter “27A” here. |
|
Suffix |
Enter a letter suffix chosen from the drop down box if you
are using one. This is not required, and it is not encouraged. You may not
duplicate a number/suffix combination – the database will not accept the
duplicate. Example of use: You may
collect a specimen that is later determined to actually be two different
plants. If your original number was 325, we may (or you may) split it into
325A and 325B. |
|
Family |
If you know the plant family, enter it here. |
|
Genus |
If you know the plant genus, enter it here. |
|
Species |
If you know the species name, enter it here. |
|
var. or ssp. |
If you are going to enter an infraname, click on one of
the buttons to indicate if it is a variety or subspecies. |
|
Infraname |
If you know the variety or subspecies name, enter it here. |
|
Common Name |
If you know the common name of the plant enter it here. |
|
A note about names:
Your specimens will be examined and identified by Dr. |
|
|
Phenology |
Select the proper status from the drop-down list. Phenology
means reproductive status. You must make a selection. |
|
Number of Labels |
Enter your estimate of the number of sheets that will be
required to mount the specimen. A label will be printed for each sheet, and
your entry helps automate that process. Generally this is left as 1. |
|
Description |
Describe the plant, particularly characteristics that will
be lost when mounted, such as height and breadth. Include colors of flowers
or fruit that often fade when dried. 255 characters maximum. |
|
To enter the specimen data into the database: Click the button: Add This Record to Database e |
|
|
To help keep track of your entries, click
the button: Show My Last
Five Entries |
|
|
To see what the specimen label will look like, you may preview the label any number of times as you enter data before you click the Add This Record to Database button. Click the button: Preview Specimen Label |
|
A preview version of the specimen label will appear on the screen. This preview will be cleared from the screen on data entry. |
|
Entry |
Instructions |
|
Specimen Number And Suffix |
Enter the specimen number whose data you wish to edit.
Then click on the button: Select This Specimen
To Edit The data for that
specimen will appear in the text boxes on the page. |
|
Note: If your specimen has already been identified/verified you will get a message telling
you that you cannot edit the data for that specimen. |
|
|
Edit the Data |
Change any of the data. |
|
Lat/Long and Elevation |
Note that Lat/Long is in decimal degrees. Any changes must
be made in decimal degrees. If your data is in Deg/Min/Sec, use the calculator
on the page to convert it. Enter the Deg/Min/Sec into the three boxes and
click the = sign button. The decimal data will appear to the right and you
can enter that into Latitude or Longitude boxes. Elevation is in meters. Take the same approach. |
|
To make the changes, click the
button: Enter Changes to
Database |
|
|
|
|
The bulk data edit form allows you to change the data
entries for a group of specimens at one time, without having to call them up individually
as you do on the edit page. You can edit or delete data for those items in the
Common Data area.
To use the form, enter the first and last specimen number in
the text boxes at the top of the form for those specimens whose data you want to
change. The changes will be made to the first, last, and all in between those
numbers.
Data will be changed only for those items where the check
box to the left is checked. If you do not check the box, the data will not be
changed even if you have entered something into the data text area. If a box is
checked, and the data text field is left empty, the data for that item in the
database will be deleted. In the example above, the entry for Team will be
deleted from the database for specimens 1001 through 1005.
Use the latitude/longitude and elevation converters exactly
as used on the Edit Data page.
When you are ready to make the change, click the green
button at the bottom of the page.
If the operation is successful, a message will appear
indicating the number of records that were updated. In the example above, only
four records were updated even though it would appear that five records were
selected. One of these records has already been labeled and therefore cannot be
changed. A similar result may occur if there were missing numbers in the
sequence. Your specimen numbers do not have to be sequential and complete. This
process will affect whatever number of records exist between the numbers you
specify in the boxes.
If the operation fails, an error message will appear on the
form. The data you have entered will remain on the screen, and you can click
the button again or correct the problem as indicated.
You can see all of your collection on this page. The drop-down
list of Atlas Squares will list only those Squares from which you have
collected plants. Select a Square and then click the button: List My Collection You may select {ALL}
from the dropdown
Your list will appear as follows:
Each specimen listed as Verified will show the correct botanical name and accepted common name. If the specimen is listed as not yet verified, the names will be the ones you entered.
To assist parabotanists in good practice in entering
Locality data, the Locality Display checkbox, if checked, will result in a different
data set that includes the Locality field. The Locality display cannot be used
with the {ALL} selection.
The
Bulletin board provides an opportunity for Parabotanists to post messages that
may be of general value to the Plant Atlas community. If you have a question,
and you think the answer should be shared with other Parabotanists, post it on
the Bulletin Board. The Plant Atlas staff can enter responses directly to the
question.
Your name
will be recorded with any comment you enter but will not appear in the comment
that other Parabotanists will see. If you want to “sign” the comment, add your
name to the comment body.
Staff comments will appear in red italics.
On the
login page, there are two links related to the subject of rare, threatened,
endangered plants. The first link takes you to a page that facilitates the
finding of special status plants by name and provides details of the status.
You can, by selecting the appropriate button, display plants that are
categorized by California or Federal law, or plants that are simply considered
Special Status by the California Native Plant Society.
If you encounter
a plant that is protected by California and/or Federal law, you should report
the observation, but not collect the plant.
The link to the observation report form will take you to that page.
The web site
provides a number of tools for assistance in determining the location of your
collection sites. There is an assisted link to take you to TopoZone.com to the
center of any selected square. There are overview topographic maps that cover a groups of squares and can help you orient yourself. There
are aerial views of individual squares.
TopoZone.com
On the
Plant Atlas home page, use the drop-down menu Website Tools, and click on TopoZone to
Click on
any square, and you will be sent to the TopoZone.com® web site, with
the opening map centered on the square you selected. The instructions for
optimizing the map appear below the clickable layout map shown above.
Topographic overview map/Aerial Images
After
logging in, use the drop-down menu item Reference and then click on Topo Maps/Photo Maps.
You will
see the following page:
The left
side of the page illustrates the overview map that will be made available.
There are two links to access these maps. One leads to the maps produced in
Adobe® format, the other to maps produced in .jpg pictorail file
format. The maps are the same either way, and the narrative on the page explains
why you might pick one format over the other.
The right
side of the page allows you to select an aerial image of any particular square.
Use the drop-down boxes to select the square, and then click the Show Image
button.