Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 48(1): January 2022 We set out to determine the accuracy of 6 of the most-downloaded apps (as per the Apple App Store® at the start of the project, 2020 July 6) in order to bet- ter understand what trends exist in the apps’ cumula- tive abilities to identify different groups of trees to the genus and species levels: iNaturalist™, Pl@ntNet™ (henceforth PlantNet), LeafSnap™, PlantSnap™, PictureThis™, and Plant Identification™ (Table 1). Our choice in selection by popularity stands in con- trast to a similar study conducted by Xing et al. (2020) which selected apps based on function (foliar versus floral identification). As that study points out, perfor- mance within urban forests needs to be checked, since the species profiles are different between the locally natural and the designed plant communities (Xing et al. 2020). Our evaluations were organized based on phylogenetic relatedness (i.e., trends within and between taxa), as well as morphological traits of the leaves and bark across all of the apps. We sought to understand the accuracy of each of the apps indi- vidually and determine how accurately the apps can identify trees from pictures of their leaves as opposed to their barks. We then considered their value as a teaching support for students or for early field profes- sionals. The study differs from other work which usu- ally considers a broader range of plant types (beyond trees) within a regional flora (Kumar et al. 2012; Jones 2020). We focused on in-field identification rather than identification from stock photos, such as used in Jones (2020) which considered several of the Cost of use (USD)* $29.99/year N/A $1.49/week, $3.99/month, $29.99/year PlantNet (Pl@ntNet) LeafSnap PlantSnap N/A N/A $2.99/month, $19.99/year + + + *Cost of use values are based on the cost at the time of the study in summer 2020. ©2022 International Society of Arboriculture + − + 26,722 world flora 8,490 USA flora All 185 tree species in the NE Forest 650,000 plantnet- project.org Appixi PlantSnap, Inc. Suggestions Plant Identification++ − + + 29 same apps, but on a wider range of plant types (i.e., multiple habits) and only two species within the gen- era of trees that we tested (i.e., Quercus robur and Acer pseudoplatanus). There have also been studies evaluating the identification ability of similar pho- to-based identification software as compared to the ability of botanists (of varying levels of experience) to identify the same photos. Bonnet et al. (2015) determined that while the apps did not come close to outperforming expert botanists, their identification skills were on par with somewhat-experienced bota- nists and even outperformed inexperienced botanists, indicating that these apps may have profound impli- cations if they can be tactfully utilized by beginners in the field. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study System Our study system was the temperate seasonal climate of the state of New Jersey, which is located within the mid-Atlantic region of the United States and can be described as spanning 5 physiographic regions, from the Highlands and Ridge and Valley systems in the northwest, through a Piedmont section and to the Inner and Outer Coastal planes in the southeast (Robi- chaud and Buell 1973). The northern half of the state is dominated by glacial actions along the Appala- chian Rib and a transition from an upland forest with mixed hardwood assemblages of maple/beech/birch to a mixed oak/hickory forest. The southern half is Table 1. A listing of the plant-identification apps tested during this study. App name consistently offered PictureThis iNaturalist Community identifications − + − Size of plant species database from website claim 10,000 + Not stated Not stated Glority, LLC iNaturalist, LLC Touchberry, Inc. Developer
January 2022
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