Join the Monitoring of Invasive Plant Species along the Danube

Every record counts. Whether you are an experienced naturalist or simply walking along the river with your phone, you can help us track the spread of invasive alien species in protected areas along the Danube. All you need is the iNaturalist app and a curiosity for the natural world.

What is iNaturalist?

iNaturalist is a free citizen science platform used by millions of people around the world. Using the app, you photograph an organism in the field, the platform helps identify the species, and your observation becomes part of a scientific database. Simple, fast, from anywhere.

Why do we monitor invasive species?

Invasive alien species are among the leading causes of biodiversity loss in Europe. They spread rapidly, displace native plants and animals, and fundamentally alter entire habitats. The sooner a new occurrence is recorded, the sooner we can respond. This is exactly why public monitoring is so valuable: you are our eyes in the field.
Within the LIFE Resistance project, we monitor 16 selected invasive species across Natura 2000 sites along the Slovak-Hungarian border section of the Danube. Every recorded observation helps us better understand where and how quickly these species are spreading, and enables us to plan their removal.

How to get involved? Step by step

Step 1: Download the iNaturalist app

The app is free for both Android and iOS.

You can also use it via a web browser at www.inaturalist.org.

Step 2: Create an account

Step 3: Join our project

Once logged in, visit our project page and click Join project:

Resistance: Danube Alien Species

Once you are a member of the project, your observations of the target invasive species from the Danube area will be automatically linked to our monitoring data.

Step 4: Photograph and upload your observation

In the field, simply:

1. Open the app and tap Add observation

2. Photograph the plant (ideally from multiple angles)
3. Record the location and date (the app does this automatically if your GPS is enabled)

4. Confirm or add to the species suggestion the app provides
5. Submit the observation

If you are unsure of the species, do not worry. Upload it anyway. The iNaturalist community of experts and its AI identification system will help.

Tips for good quality records

Always photograph the whole plant as well as close-up details of leaves, flowers or fruit.
For trees and shrubs, a shot of the bark and any new shoots is also useful.
Do not forget to enable GPS location; it is the most important piece of information for us.
If you are unsure of the species, add a note or tag the observation with the project name.
The best time to photograph plants is during flowering or fruiting, when identification features are most visible.

Which species are we looking for?

We focus on 16 invasive alien plant species occurring in the Danubian floodplain area. You can find the full list with photographs and identification guides, as well as map of the monitoring area directly in our project on iNaturalist. If you manage to record any of them in the Slovak-Hungarian border area along the Danube, it is an exceptionally valuable find for us.