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INHABIT: A web tool for invasive plant management across the contiguous United States

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By Fort Collins Science Center January 17, 2025

INHABIT is a desktop-optimized web application and decision support tool with mapped and tabular summaries of habitat suitability models for over two hundred fifty terrestrial invasive plant species of management concern across the contiguous United States. It is the product of a scientist-practitioner partnership and is designed to facilitate enhanced invasive species management actions, including species watch lists and targeted searches. 

Check out the app!

About

Once introduced, invasive species can be difficult to control or eradicate, and it is often difficult to determine where these species will invade next. Land managers need tools that can help them predict the potential spread of invasive species. INHABIT is one component of the National Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) Framework, which is composed of several different projects, including the information hub Siren, that together provide tools to plan, detect, report, and respond to invasive species. 

 

Highlights

  • Includes 259 terrestrial invasive plant species
  • Covers over 10,000 management areas
  • Downloadable maps and summaries

Explore more features and uses of INHABIT on this page and receive updates by subscribing to the newsletter below.

Subscribe to the INHABIT newsletter

The Web Application

Map invasive species habitat suitability for occurrence, abundance, and high abundance on one platform.

map of the US with color gradient, white dots, and red polygon; a key in the upper right corner explains features
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
A screenshot from the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT) 4.0 displaying continuous habitat suitability for occurrence for cheatgrass plus locations of occurrence data used to estimate habitat suitability for cheatgrass (white dots), and current known occurrence boundary (dashed red line) within the contiguous United States. 

 

View both continuous and categorical maps of habitat suitability for over 250 terrestrial, invasive plant species of management importance. Continuous maps are for occurrence, abundance, or high abundance while categorical maps integrate the three continuous maps.

Continuous habitat suitability map for cheatgrass in the United States Categorical habitat suitability map for cheatgrass in the United States
Show only left Show only right
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Download Images
Screenshots from the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT) 4.0 displaying continuous (left) and categorical (right) habitat suitability maps for cheatgrass across the contiguous United States. 

 

Summarize ranked risk across management areas

map of central Oregon with color gradient, white dots, green polygon, and key in the upper right corner explaining features
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
A screenshot from the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT) 4.0 displaying continuous habitat suitability for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) across central Oregon. Darker, purple color indicates low habitat suitability and lighter, yellower colors indicate higher habitat suitability, black indicates environmental extrapolation is limited. White dots represent locations of data used to estimate habitat suitability. The green polygon represents Crater Lake National Park and a scale in the bottom left displays map distances. Below the map, a screenshot of the Summary by Management area tab displays data specific to Crater Lake National Park, including information about how many acres in the park are considered suitable habitat for cheatgrass (126,024 or 69% of the park's land area), how many acres in the park are estimated to be suitable for high abundance in of cheatgrass (495), and the closest known cheatgrass occurrence (7 miles from the park), among other information relevant to managers. (Abbreviations: Est=Estimated; Occ=Occurrences; Dist=Distance). All data in the Summary by Management Area and Summary by Species tabs are downloadable.

How to use INHABIT data

Integrate data with ArcGIS Field Maps. 

 

two hands hold a tablet device with grass in the background. On the tablet, a map is displayed.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Habitat suitability data from INHABIT can be incorporated into an ArcGIS Field Maps form that is accessible in the field via tablet.

Create watchlists.

 

map of new york state with counties colored different shades of pink to purple depending on value
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
This graph displays data downloaded from INHABIT on the number of terrestrial, invasive plant species that are not yet recorded locally, but have suitable habitat within New York State counties. The darker the color, the higher the number of invasive species that have suitable habitat in that county. Generating invasive species watch lists like this can help managers determine which species to prioritize in their early detection and rapid response efforts. 

Identify doorstep species.

 

blue-green map of Oregon with overlays of green and yellow polygons, text, and white dots.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Mapped habitat suitability for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) across Oregon. The green polygon outlines Crater Lake National Park. The yellow circles represent an area with approximately 25-mile radius around the polygon and 50-mile radius around the polygon. White dots represent locations cheatgrass has been recorded. A "doorstep species" is defined as one that does not occur within a management area but does occur within 50 or 100 miles of a management area. Here, we can see that cheatgrass occurs multiple times within 25 miles of the border of Crater Lake National Park and the park contains suitable habitat for the invasive grass. Thus, we would classify cheatgrass as a doorstep species for the park. INHABIT users can download lists of invasive species considered doorstep species for over 10,000 different management areas across the U.S.

INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States (ver. 4.0, June 2024)

This is a dataset containing the potential distribution of 259 invasive terrestrial plant species. We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies and other managers. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229253) and adapted by Jarnevich et al....
By
Fort Collins Science Center

Management summary table for INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States: additional management units

We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. 2020 to species not included in the original case studies. Our methodology balanced trade-offs between developing highly customized models for a few species versus fitting non-specific and generic models...
By
Fort Collins Science Center

INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States (ver. 3.0, February 2023)

We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. 2020 to species not included in the original case studies. Our methodology balanced trade-offs between developing highly customized models for a few species versus fitting non-specific and generic models...
By
Fort Collins Science Center

INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States

We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. 2020 to species not included in the original case studies. Our methodology balanced trade-offs between developing highly customized models for a few species versus fitting non-specific and generic models...
By
Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Predicted occurrence and abundance habitat suitability of invasive plants in the contiguous United States: Updates for the INHABIT web tool.

Invasive plant species have substantial negative ecological and economic impacts. Geographic information on the potential and actual distributions of invasive plants is critical for their effective management. For many regions, numerous sources of predictive geographic information exist for invasive plants, often in the form of outputs from species distribution models (SDMs). The...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Peder Engelstad, Demetra A. Williams, Keana S. Shadwell, Cameron J. Reimer, Grace Henderson, Janet S. Prevéy, Ian Pearse
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Predictor importance in habitat suitability models for invasive terrestrial plants

AimDue to the socioeconomic and environmental damages caused by invasive species, predicting the distribution of invasive plants is fundamental for effectively targeting management efforts. A habitat suitability model (HSM) is a powerful tool to predict potential habitat of invasive species to help guide the early detection of invasive plants. Despite numerous studies of the predictors...
Authors
Demetra A. Williams, Keana S. Shadwell, Ian Pearse, Janet S. Prevéy, Peder Engelstad, Grace Henderson, Catherine S. Jarnevich
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Invaders at the doorstep: Using species distribution modeling to enhance invasive plant watch lists

Watch lists of invasive species that threaten a particular land management unit are useful tools because they can draw attention to invasive species at the very early stages of invasion when early detection and rapid response efforts are often most successful. However, watch lists typically rely on the subjective selection of invasive species by experts or on the use of spotty occurrence...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Peder Engelstad, Jillian LaRoe, Brandon Hays, Terri Hogan, Jeremy Jirak, Ian Pearse, Janet S. Prevéy, Jennifer Sieraki, Annie Simpson, Jess Wenick, Nicholas Young, Helen Sofaer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

INHABIT: A web-based decision support tool for invasive plant species habitat visualization and assessment across the contiguous United States

Narrowing the communication and knowledge gap between producers and users of scientific data is a longstanding problem in ecological conservation and land management. Decision support tools (DSTs), including websites or interactive web applications, provide platforms that can help bridge this gap. DSTs can most effectively disseminate and translate research results when producers and...
Authors
Peder Engelstad, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Terri Hogan, Helen Sofaer, Ian Pearse, Jennifer Sieracki, Neil Frakes, Julia Sullivan, Nicholas E. Young, Janet S. Prevéy, Pairsa Nicole Belamaric, Jillian Marie Laroe
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Modelling presence versus abundance for invasive species risk assessment

AimInvasive species prevention and management can be guided by comparisons of invasion risk across space and among species. Species distribution models are widely used to assess invasion risk and typically estimate suitability for species presence. However, suitability for presence may not capture patterns of abundance and impact. We asked how models estimating suitability for presence...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Helen Sofaer, Peder Engelstad
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

A modeling workflow that balances automation and human intervention to inform invasive plant management decisions at multiple spatial scales

Predictions of habitat suitability for invasive plant species can guide risk assessments at regional and national scales and inform early detection and rapid-response strategies at local scales. We present a general approach to invasive species modeling and mapping that meets objectives at multiple scales. Our methodology is designed to balance trade-offs between developing highly...
Authors
Nicholas E. Young, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Helen Sofaer, Ian Pearse, Julia Sullivan, Peder Engelstad, Thomas J. Stohlgren
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center
Stopping invaders at the doorstep: FORT researchers launch version 4.0 of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool

Stopping invaders at the doorstep: FORT researchers launch version 4.0 of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool

In a new version of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT 4.0), USGS scientists worked with resource managers to update the tool with occurrence...

Read Article
Friday's Findings - August 11 2023

Friday's Findings - August 11 2023

Title:  INHABIT:  What, Where, and Why of Invasive Plant Species

Speaker:  Catherine Jarnevich, Research Ecologist, Fort Collins Science Center

Date...

Read Article

INHABIT is a desktop-optimized web application and decision support tool with mapped and tabular summaries of habitat suitability models for over two hundred fifty terrestrial invasive plant species of management concern across the contiguous United States. It is the product of a scientist-practitioner partnership and is designed to facilitate enhanced invasive species management actions, including species watch lists and targeted searches. 

Check out the app!

About

Once introduced, invasive species can be difficult to control or eradicate, and it is often difficult to determine where these species will invade next. Land managers need tools that can help them predict the potential spread of invasive species. INHABIT is one component of the National Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) Framework, which is composed of several different projects, including the information hub Siren, that together provide tools to plan, detect, report, and respond to invasive species. 

 

Highlights

  • Includes 259 terrestrial invasive plant species
  • Covers over 10,000 management areas
  • Downloadable maps and summaries

Explore more features and uses of INHABIT on this page and receive updates by subscribing to the newsletter below.

Subscribe to the INHABIT newsletter

The Web Application

Map invasive species habitat suitability for occurrence, abundance, and high abundance on one platform.

map of the US with color gradient, white dots, and red polygon; a key in the upper right corner explains features
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
A screenshot from the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT) 4.0 displaying continuous habitat suitability for occurrence for cheatgrass plus locations of occurrence data used to estimate habitat suitability for cheatgrass (white dots), and current known occurrence boundary (dashed red line) within the contiguous United States. 

 

View both continuous and categorical maps of habitat suitability for over 250 terrestrial, invasive plant species of management importance. Continuous maps are for occurrence, abundance, or high abundance while categorical maps integrate the three continuous maps.

Continuous habitat suitability map for cheatgrass in the United States Categorical habitat suitability map for cheatgrass in the United States
Show only left Show only right
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Download Images
Screenshots from the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT) 4.0 displaying continuous (left) and categorical (right) habitat suitability maps for cheatgrass across the contiguous United States. 

 

Summarize ranked risk across management areas

map of central Oregon with color gradient, white dots, green polygon, and key in the upper right corner explaining features
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
A screenshot from the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT) 4.0 displaying continuous habitat suitability for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) across central Oregon. Darker, purple color indicates low habitat suitability and lighter, yellower colors indicate higher habitat suitability, black indicates environmental extrapolation is limited. White dots represent locations of data used to estimate habitat suitability. The green polygon represents Crater Lake National Park and a scale in the bottom left displays map distances. Below the map, a screenshot of the Summary by Management area tab displays data specific to Crater Lake National Park, including information about how many acres in the park are considered suitable habitat for cheatgrass (126,024 or 69% of the park's land area), how many acres in the park are estimated to be suitable for high abundance in of cheatgrass (495), and the closest known cheatgrass occurrence (7 miles from the park), among other information relevant to managers. (Abbreviations: Est=Estimated; Occ=Occurrences; Dist=Distance). All data in the Summary by Management Area and Summary by Species tabs are downloadable.

How to use INHABIT data

Integrate data with ArcGIS Field Maps. 

 

two hands hold a tablet device with grass in the background. On the tablet, a map is displayed.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Habitat suitability data from INHABIT can be incorporated into an ArcGIS Field Maps form that is accessible in the field via tablet.

Create watchlists.

 

map of new york state with counties colored different shades of pink to purple depending on value
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
This graph displays data downloaded from INHABIT on the number of terrestrial, invasive plant species that are not yet recorded locally, but have suitable habitat within New York State counties. The darker the color, the higher the number of invasive species that have suitable habitat in that county. Generating invasive species watch lists like this can help managers determine which species to prioritize in their early detection and rapid response efforts. 

Identify doorstep species.

 

blue-green map of Oregon with overlays of green and yellow polygons, text, and white dots.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Mapped habitat suitability for cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) across Oregon. The green polygon outlines Crater Lake National Park. The yellow circles represent an area with approximately 25-mile radius around the polygon and 50-mile radius around the polygon. White dots represent locations cheatgrass has been recorded. A "doorstep species" is defined as one that does not occur within a management area but does occur within 50 or 100 miles of a management area. Here, we can see that cheatgrass occurs multiple times within 25 miles of the border of Crater Lake National Park and the park contains suitable habitat for the invasive grass. Thus, we would classify cheatgrass as a doorstep species for the park. INHABIT users can download lists of invasive species considered doorstep species for over 10,000 different management areas across the U.S.

INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States (ver. 4.0, June 2024)

This is a dataset containing the potential distribution of 259 invasive terrestrial plant species. We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies and other managers. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229253) and adapted by Jarnevich et al....
By
Fort Collins Science Center

Management summary table for INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States: additional management units

We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. 2020 to species not included in the original case studies. Our methodology balanced trade-offs between developing highly customized models for a few species versus fitting non-specific and generic models...
By
Fort Collins Science Center

INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States (ver. 3.0, February 2023)

We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. 2020 to species not included in the original case studies. Our methodology balanced trade-offs between developing highly customized models for a few species versus fitting non-specific and generic models...
By
Fort Collins Science Center

INHABIT species potential distribution across the contiguous United States

We developed habitat suitability models for invasive plant species selected by Department of Interior land management agencies. We applied the modeling workflow developed in Young et al. 2020 to species not included in the original case studies. Our methodology balanced trade-offs between developing highly customized models for a few species versus fitting non-specific and generic models...
By
Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Predicted occurrence and abundance habitat suitability of invasive plants in the contiguous United States: Updates for the INHABIT web tool.

Invasive plant species have substantial negative ecological and economic impacts. Geographic information on the potential and actual distributions of invasive plants is critical for their effective management. For many regions, numerous sources of predictive geographic information exist for invasive plants, often in the form of outputs from species distribution models (SDMs). The...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Peder Engelstad, Demetra A. Williams, Keana S. Shadwell, Cameron J. Reimer, Grace Henderson, Janet S. Prevéy, Ian Pearse
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Predictor importance in habitat suitability models for invasive terrestrial plants

AimDue to the socioeconomic and environmental damages caused by invasive species, predicting the distribution of invasive plants is fundamental for effectively targeting management efforts. A habitat suitability model (HSM) is a powerful tool to predict potential habitat of invasive species to help guide the early detection of invasive plants. Despite numerous studies of the predictors...
Authors
Demetra A. Williams, Keana S. Shadwell, Ian Pearse, Janet S. Prevéy, Peder Engelstad, Grace Henderson, Catherine S. Jarnevich
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Invaders at the doorstep: Using species distribution modeling to enhance invasive plant watch lists

Watch lists of invasive species that threaten a particular land management unit are useful tools because they can draw attention to invasive species at the very early stages of invasion when early detection and rapid response efforts are often most successful. However, watch lists typically rely on the subjective selection of invasive species by experts or on the use of spotty occurrence...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Peder Engelstad, Jillian LaRoe, Brandon Hays, Terri Hogan, Jeremy Jirak, Ian Pearse, Janet S. Prevéy, Jennifer Sieraki, Annie Simpson, Jess Wenick, Nicholas Young, Helen Sofaer
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

INHABIT: A web-based decision support tool for invasive plant species habitat visualization and assessment across the contiguous United States

Narrowing the communication and knowledge gap between producers and users of scientific data is a longstanding problem in ecological conservation and land management. Decision support tools (DSTs), including websites or interactive web applications, provide platforms that can help bridge this gap. DSTs can most effectively disseminate and translate research results when producers and...
Authors
Peder Engelstad, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Terri Hogan, Helen Sofaer, Ian Pearse, Jennifer Sieracki, Neil Frakes, Julia Sullivan, Nicholas E. Young, Janet S. Prevéy, Pairsa Nicole Belamaric, Jillian Marie Laroe
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Modelling presence versus abundance for invasive species risk assessment

AimInvasive species prevention and management can be guided by comparisons of invasion risk across space and among species. Species distribution models are widely used to assess invasion risk and typically estimate suitability for species presence. However, suitability for presence may not capture patterns of abundance and impact. We asked how models estimating suitability for presence...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Helen Sofaer, Peder Engelstad
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

A modeling workflow that balances automation and human intervention to inform invasive plant management decisions at multiple spatial scales

Predictions of habitat suitability for invasive plant species can guide risk assessments at regional and national scales and inform early detection and rapid-response strategies at local scales. We present a general approach to invasive species modeling and mapping that meets objectives at multiple scales. Our methodology is designed to balance trade-offs between developing highly...
Authors
Nicholas E. Young, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Helen Sofaer, Ian Pearse, Julia Sullivan, Peder Engelstad, Thomas J. Stohlgren
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center
Stopping invaders at the doorstep: FORT researchers launch version 4.0 of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool

Stopping invaders at the doorstep: FORT researchers launch version 4.0 of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool

In a new version of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool (INHABIT 4.0), USGS scientists worked with resource managers to update the tool with occurrence...

Read Article
Friday's Findings - August 11 2023

Friday's Findings - August 11 2023

Title:  INHABIT:  What, Where, and Why of Invasive Plant Species

Speaker:  Catherine Jarnevich, Research Ecologist, Fort Collins Science Center

Date...

Read Article
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