Ecobot Manager checks every survey for gaps before you deliver it. It flags points where a wetland determination or a USACE parameter was never answered, and species that need a closer look, so nothing slips through QA/QC. This article shows where the flags are and how to clear them.
The QA tools are new, and we're releasing them early. To tell us what's working or what you'd like to see, select Share QA feedback on the survey's Points or Species tab.
Why some answers need review
In Ecobot Collector and Manager, Hydrophytic Vegetation Present?, Hydric Soil Present?, Wetland Hydrology Present? and Within a Wetland? each start as Pending. They stay Pending until someone chooses Yes or No. Ecobot never chooses for you, in keeping with USACE guidelines.
Anything still Pending when the survey reaches the office is flagged for review. For how each answer is chosen in the field, see Wetland determination: vegetation, Wetland determination: soil, Wetland determination: hydrology and Wetland determination: summary of findings.
Check the survey's findings
Open the survey. Its Overview tab starts with Survey findings:
- The cards count the sample points, and how many are Wetland, Upland or Pending. A point is Pending when Within a Wetland? hasn't been answered.
- Pending points aren't counted in the Wetland or Upland totals. A banner says how many points still need a determination.
- Parameter summary shows, for vegetation, soil and hydrology, how many points have each parameter Present, Absent or Unanswered.
Find the points that need attention
On the Points tab, a note under Point summary says how many points need a determination. In the list, the Determination column shows Pending for those points. The Veg, Soil and Hydro columns show a check mark for each answered parameter, and a dash for one that's still Pending.
To clear a flag, check the survey out, open the point, and choose Yes or No for each Pending answer. See Edit a point. If the answer belongs to whoever collected the data, ask them to update it in Collector.
Check flagged species
The Species tab lists every species in the survey. QA flags counts the flagged species and explains why each one is flagged:
- Unresolved / incomplete taxa: the name isn't on the National Wetland Plant List, often because it was typed in by hand, so it can't be given an indicator status.
- No indicator assigned: the species has no USACE indicator status on any record, so it's left out of the hydrophytic totals.
To see only those species, select Flagged above the list. A flag icon marks each flagged species.
To clear a flag, open the points that use the species, and choose the species from the list or enter its indicator status. See Wetland determination: vegetation.
Flags update as soon as the point data changes. They aren't included in the species CSV download.