Customizable tool for ecological data entry, assessment, monitoring, and interpretation

Title	Customizable tool for ecological data entry, assessment, monitoring, and interpretation
Publication Type	Conference Paper
Year of Publication	2008
Authors	Courtright E, Herrick JE, Bestelmeyer BT, Burkett LM
Conference Name	93rd Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting
Date Published	August 4-8, 2008
Conference Location	Milwaukee, WI
ARIS Log Number	230396
Keywords	assessment, ecological, interpretation, monitoring, tool
Abstract	The Database for Inventory, Monitoring and Assessment (DIMA) is a highly customizable tool for data entry, assessment, monitoring, and interpretation. DIMA is a Microsoft Access database that can easily be used without Access knowledge and is available at no cost. Data can be entered for common, nationally accepted (by NRCS, BLM and others) vegetation and soil monitoring methods, including the methods described in the “Monitoring Manual for Grassland, Shrubland, and Savanna Ecosystems.” Additionally, NRCS ecological site description data can be collected starting at a low intensity (e.g., general site characteristics, waypoints and photos) and building to a high intensity (e.g., detailed soil and vegetation data). Stored data are easily exported to other databases and spreadsheets while previously entered data can be quickly imported into the database via Excel templates. Indicators and reports, including graphs, are automatically generated from entered data. In addition to data, the database stores critical metadata such as field crew personnel, plant species lists downloaded from the USDA/NRCS PLANTS database, driving directions, method rule sets, soil data and links to photos. The objective of this poster is to make the database available to other ecologists, to review current applications, and to identify areas for future enhancements.