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NatureServe Vista: Key Features
The Project Database
NatureServe Vista’s database structure allows you to integrate a variety of data sets, from multiple sources, into a single conservation planning database.
For each element in the database, you can assign:
- A name that identifies it.
- A weight that suggests the element’s relative importance.
- A conservation unit that indicates whether the element should be measured by area (for ecosystem types) or by occurrence (for species).
- A category or categories to which the element belongs, for instance the element’s taxonomic classification or legal status.
- Attributes that reflect the integrity of each element occurrence.
- Attributes that reflect confidence in the data’s accuracy.
- A quantitative conservation goal.
- The element’s compatibility with various land use types.
Element Conservation Value Maps
Once your conservation elements have been integrated into NatureServe Vista’s project database, you can use NatureServe Vista to generate an element conservation value map for each element. These maps highlight the most valuable places to conserve for each individual element, based on the integrity and confidence attributes that you assigned. NatureServe Vista will also create a report that includes basic information about the element and the element’s conservation value map.