Hello, I’ve noticed that many of the observations for spruces on Governors Island in New York City are showing up in the DQA as Organism is Not Wild. Is this something the person submitting the observation does or is it another user making this change or is this a default that needs to be upvoted t…

[image] They’re voted automatically because other observations nearby are cultivated. And yeah, both are not looking wild.

[image] nycbirder: I see that the second URL above does not have a No vote for Organism is Wild and appears to have defaulted to Wild = Yes. As @marina_gorbunova said, the ones that identify iNaturalist as the voter for “not wild” are based on the designations of other observations of the sam…

Thanks @marina_gorbunova and @saturnring for your responses. If we take Blue Spruce in New York City would it make sense that these should all be Wild = No? There are 17 observations and all are Wild = Yes. It seems the vote to make them Wild is to get them out of the Needs ID state as mentioned by…

[image] nycbirder: Can I assume that the Wild / Not Wild situation is a bit of a sticky situation? Unfortunately, yes, it is. There are frequent posts and discussions about it (indeed, right now there is a new post proposing a survey to ask people/s opinions on what criteria are important fo…

Here’s the rule from the iNaturalist help page at https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help (#8 under Observations), if that helps: The system will vote that the observation is not wild/naturalized if there are at least 10 other observations of a genus or lower in the smallest county-, state-, or coun…

Many users don’t realise they need to mark planted plants, and in areas where iders have too many observations to check such observations can stay “wild” for years.

Thanks for all the insights, links to threads and relevant discussions. I see this is an ongoing conversation but there are definite rules that are in place. Rule #8 mentioned in this thread makes perfect sense. It seems these system assigned “not wild” designations are simply over ridden to get IDs…

it is not impossible for a blue spruce to seed in naturally from planted trees in NYC, but it’s much less likely than a tree being planted in that location so i think defaulting to cultivated in that particular place makes a lot of sense

[image] earthknight: right now there is a new post proposing a survey to ask people/s opinions on what criteria are important for judging that status Could you link to it?

Spruces: Defaulting in DQA to Organism is Not Wild?

General

raymie October 8, 2021, 3:11pm 8

The Sibley Guide to Trees actually lists Blue Spruce as a wild (albeit introduced) species through much of New York.

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Spruces: Defaulting in DQA to Organism is Not Wild?

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