DEMNA-DNE : Exotic plant occurrences in Wallonia

Exotic plant occurrences in Wallonia is a merged occurrence-only dataset, compiling records of exotic taxa from various floristic data sources covering Wallonia (Southern Belgium). Data compilation, cleaning and validation were performed by the Département de l’Étude du Milieu Naturel et Agricole (SPW – DGARNE - DEMNA), in particular the 'GT-Flore', a working group bringing together plant experts from the department and external collaborators from regional naturalist networks. The types of primary sources compiled in this dataset are heterogeneous, including specific surveys, citizen observations, digitized collections, etc. Attention should therefore be paid to the "DC term: DataSetName" when figuring out record features. Also, Reference should be made to 'FootprintWKT' for spatial referencing, as the dataset includes both grid-derived and punctual data. "Flore OFFH and Co" (87 332 records) is the core of the DEMNA database. It covers monitoring carried out by the department officers or by partners under agreement, data from digitization calls, etc. "Encodage en ligne OFFH" (32 941 records) is the database associated to an online recording system for registered citizens (http://observatoire.biodiversite.wallonie.be/encodage/). The system includes georeferencing facilities and allows users to provide pictures. "BD Berce du Caucase", "Enquetes OFFH","Rinse", "Inv. Perm. des Res. For.","Natura 2000", "Contrats rivières" are topical surveys, limited in time and/or taxonomically oriented. All records have been subject to a validation procedure performed by the department experts. Validation rules were based on pictures, observer’s expertise, ecological relevance, or additional information provided by the observer. This dataset content is under a CC-BY license. Please make sure to quote the Département de l’Étude du Milieu Naturel et Agricole (SPW – DGARNE - DEMNA) if you make any use of the data, using preferably the form 'Origin of the Information: SPW-DGARNE – DEMNA – GT Flore & collaborators' whenever it is possible. Additional information is accessible upon specific and motivated request addressed to: http://observatoire.biodiversite.wallonie.be/cmdd/. Please contact the department for additional information about the dataset, about the Walloon 'GT-Flore', or about our biodiversity related activities. Returns and comments are highly appreciated.