Mapping Species Distributions

WHO IS E-FLORA BC?

Round-leaved orchis (Amerorchis rotundifolia). Photo by Allan Carson.

E-Flora BC is volunteer-driven, collaborative atlas project developed by the Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis and the Herbarium at the University of British Columbia, with the assistance of many supporting partners, volunteer scientists and photographers. We are fortunate in having many experts collaborate with us in order to provide information on the flora and botany of British Columbia. It is this collaboration that is the backbone of E-Flora BC, and that ensures that the information E-Flora BC provides is scientifically accurate and substantive.

Visit our acknowledgements page for a complete list of participants, including E-Flora authors, programmers, funders, and volunteers.

What is the Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis (LASA)?

LASA is a research lab that focuses on spatial analysis, including GIS, remote sensing and other geospatial technologies, with a particular focus on biogeography. It is directed by Brian Klinkenberg. Researchers in the lab currently work towards understanding and insights in many key areas, including

• spatial analysis in biogeography and conservation biology (exploring the decline of yellow-cedar in BC, predictive mapping of rare plant species, elephant movement in Africa)
• public participation and the GEOWEB, citizen science and Volunteer Geographic Information
• medical biogeography of human pathogens (predicting outbreaks of West Nile virus, and determinants of tick-borne zoonosis),

In E-Flora BC, we bring together the power of geospatial technologies and substantial data gathering and research by many individuals, including citizen scientists, to present a comprehensive picture of the plant, lichen and fungi diversity of British Columbia.

What is the UBC Herbarium?

A herbarium is a museum of dried plant specimens. Herbaria provide a permanent record of our changing flora over time, documenting all plant, lichen and fungi species discovered so far, their variation, and their past and present distributions. These specimens represent botanical biodiversity, contain a treasure trove of anatomical, chemical, ethnobotanical, and molecular information, and document the history of plant exploration.

The UBC Herbarium holds the largest collection of British Columbia plant specimens in Canada. It is directed by Jeannette Whitton, with the assistance of several curators representing each component contained within the herbarium, and several staff who manage day to day operations. The UBC Herbarium operates as a reseach institution, as well as a teaching facility.