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Vegetation Data in Inventories

Vegetation data allows you to associate habitat characteristics with each inventory. These environmental descriptors help interpret species composition, compare sampling sites, and support ecological analyses. Filling vegetation data is optional, but highly recommended when habitat structure is relevant to your study.

What Vegetation Data Represents

Vegetation information in Xolmis Mobile follows the Alianza del Pastizal protocol.
Each vegetation record describes the structure of the habitat at the sampling location, divided into three categories:

  • Herbaceous stratum
  • Shrub stratum
  • Tree stratum

Each category contains three fields:

  1. Distribution – how the vegetation is spatially arranged
  2. Proportion – estimated coverage
  3. Average height – typical height of the vegetation stratum

These fields help characterize the environment in a standardized way.

Adding Vegetation Data

To add vegetation data to an inventory:

  1. Open the inventory.
  2. Go to the Vegetation tab.
  3. Tap the + button in the lower-right corner.
  4. Select Vegetation data.
  5. Fill in the fields for herbaceous, shrub, and tree strata.
  6. Save the record.

Editing Vegetation Data

To edit an existing vegetation record:

  1. Long-press the vegetation entry in the list.
  2. Tap the Edit icon
  3. Modify the fields as needed.
  4. Save your changes.

Edits are applied immediately.

Attaching Images

Vegetation records support image attachments, which can be useful for documenting habitat structure.

To add images:

  1. Open the vegetation record.
  2. Tap the + button.
  3. Choose:
  4. Camera to take a new photo
  5. Gallery to select an existing image
  6. Optionally add a description.
  7. Save.

You can tap an image to view it in full screen and zoom in.

In the vegetation list, you'll see the first image's thumbnail. If there are no images, the icon will appear, and if an error occurs, the icon will be shown.

Reminders for Missing Vegetation Data

If enabled in Settings → Inventories, the app can remind you to fill vegetation data when finishing an inventory.

When attempting to finish an inventory without vegetation data:

  • A reminder dialog appears
  • You can choose to:
  • Cancel (return to the inventory)
  • Ignore (finish without vegetation data)
  • Add (open the vegetation form)

This helps maintain consistent data collection.

Exporting Vegetation Data

Vegetation information is included when exporting inventories in:

  • CSV
  • Excel
  • JSON

Images attached to vegetation records are included in backups, but not in exported files.

When to Use Vegetation Data

Vegetation data is especially useful when:

  • Comparing habitat types
  • Studying species–habitat relationships
  • Monitoring environmental changes
  • Documenting sampling conditions for long-term projects

Even a single vegetation record per inventory can greatly improve the ecological value of your dataset.

Vegetation data provides essential context for interpreting species detections and strengthens the scientific quality of your inventories.