MAPPING INVASIVE PLANT TRENDS USING SPECIMENS FROM THE BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN'S NEW YORK METROPOLITAN FLORA PROJECT HERBARIUM COLLECTION

This study correlated Rosa multiflora locations within a fifty-mile radius of New York City using precise latitude and longitude coordinates with soil types provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). These correlations are used to predict where Rosa multiflora may be a problematic invasive irrespective of whether it has been reported from that area currently. GIS maps of known distribution and predicted distribution based on those correlations are provided. The Rosa multiflora specimens used in this study came from Brooklyn Botanic Garden's (BBG) herbarium specimens that were collected for one of BBG's major research projects, The New York Metropolitan Flora Project (NYMFP). NYMFP is a detailed survey of the local flora whose goal is to document the effects of urbanization on the vegetation in all counties within a fifty mile radius of New York City including all of Long Island, southeastern New York State, northern New Jersey and Fairfield County, Connecticut.