Program R in mapping of protected natural assets in Serbia

Abstract

This paper deals with the tasks of creating maps of protected natural assets (national parks and natural monuments - individual plant specimens) on several case examples in Serbia. The main goal of the paper is to introduce the application of the R program in diverse mapping assignments. Even though the R program is commonly used for numerical and statistical analysis, its application in mapping assignments is still relatively new and not widely known. Therefore, this paper aims to promote the use of R in mapping and to present the appearance of maps that can be obtained as a result. The selected examples are shown on different spatial scales, starting from the mapping of national parks on a map of Serbia, continuing with the mapping of a single national park in a narrow spatial context, ending with the mapping of individual protected plants. The same procedure can be repeated for the similar mapping assignments in the future. Creating maps is an integral part of defining adaptive management strategies for protected natural assets, and therefore can greatly impact the process of monitoring and conducting conservation measures for in situ plant protection activities.