Trying to engage the crowd in recording invasive alien species in Europe: experiences from two smartphone applications in northwest Europe

Abstract

New technologies such as smartphone application software (apps) are increasingly used to reach a wider audience on the subject of invasive alien species (IAS) and to involve the public in recording them. In this paper we present two of the more recent smartphone applications for IAS recording in northwest Europe, the <i>RINSE That’s Invasive</i>! app and the <i>KORINA</i> app. We present an overview of available smartphone apps for IAS recording in Europe and address issues of data integration, data openness, data quality, data harmonisation and database interoperability. Finally, we make some recommendations for future app design.