Creating more awareness of our environment via apps: A plant app can help protect the environment and climate by helping people to recognize and grow plants, which can help preserve biodiversity and protect endangered plants.
And this often creates the motivation for sustainable plant care: Greentech and plant apps, for example, promote environmentally friendly practices such as saving water and using natural fertilizers.
Plant apps provide information about the connection between plants, ecosystems and climate change
And related plant apps can also inform about the connection between plants, ecosystems and climate change, for example by educating users about the role of plants in carbon sequestration and air purification.
By sharing experiences and tips in the app’s community, users can raise awareness of climate issues and be encouraged to live more sustainably.
Plant identification apps
“The ability to identify plants is very difficult to learn,” says Anke Bebber. The science communicator from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena means the phenomenon of so-called plant blindness.
You have to build up a lot of knowledge, have a good eye for detail and practice for a long time. With the software help from the smartphone, on the other hand, plants can be identified with certainty even without the relevant knowledge.
Plant identification apps: Flora Incognita, Naturblick and Pl@ntNet
One of the best-known apps for identifying plants is Flora Incognita, in whose project team Anke Bebber also works. The app is a joint project of the Technical University of Ilmenau and the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena and can be downloaded free of charge.
The focus of the app is on identifying wild plants, currently possible for 16,000 species. “For classification: In Germany there are about 3,600 wild plant species,” says Bebber. This means that the app is also a valuable companion on international hiking tours.
Climate protection with a cell phone
If you have determined a species with the pocket computer, a detailed profile appears on the display. It explains whether a plant is edible, is on the list of protected species and where it is found. The plants that you have identified are collected in a list and interactive map.
This function follows a gamification approach: badges can be obtained by “collecting” certain plants.
Greentech Apps Pflanzen Flora Incognita
App Flora Incognita as particularly beginner-friendly,
Greta Friedrich from the computer magazine “c’t” classifies Flora Incognita as particularly beginner-friendly because she guides you through the photo process when identifying the plants with the help of the smartphone camera: “Tips are given on how to take photos, which the app then also recognizes can.”
Flora and fauna in your pocket
In addition to Flora Incognita, Friedrich also recommends the Naturblick app from the Berlin Museum of Natural History, which can be used to determine not only the flora but also the fauna, i.e. animals, in urban areas. “You can identify plants, birds and insects – it’s definitely good for children in particular.”
Naturblick also has automatic image recognition and can identify birds based on their voices. However, the app is limited to about 600 species.
Another widely used app for identifying plants is Pl@ntNet. The free software has been downloaded over 10 million times from the Google Play Store so far. Pl@ntNet was founded by several French research institutions. The determination is also made here by photo. To date, the Pl@ntNet project has collected nearly 15 million images of nearly 38,000 species.
Off to the animal kingdom: bird world & Co.
The Naturschutzbund Deutschland (Nabu) has developed Vogelwelt in cooperation with Sunbird Images, a company that has also released butterfly, wild bee and mushroom apps or a dragonfly app.
“The core of this app are elaborate picture panels on which each bird species is shown in its different clothes with cut-out portraits,” says ornithologist and co-developer Fabian Karwinkel. “The plumage of each species can vary based on sex and age, as well as over the course of the year.”
Greentech apps support environmental and climate protection. Photo twenty20photos Envato
All bird species in Germany
According to Karwinkel, all species occurring in Germany are stored in the app, including rare birds if they are sighted in Germany more than ten times a year. In total, there are more than 300 bird species. The basic version is free, but if you also want to hear the birds chirping digitally, you have to buy the bird calls. A paid subscription must be taken out for bird call recognition.
Inform about ecology and behavior of animals
If you don’t want that, you can at least take advantage of the encyclopedia character of the app: By selecting characteristics, you can also identify birds or find out about the ecology and behavior of the animals: “The users should be excited about the world of birds », advertises Karwinkel.
As an alternative, Greta Friedrich recommends Die Vogel App!, developed by a hobby ornithologist who only has a small database with over 230 Central European species, but is completely sufficient for the common species in Germany.
“The determination is made there using characteristics that you select – that’s why the app also works offline,” says Friedrich. But they are only available in the Google Play Store, not in Apple’s App Store.
Algorithm analyzes bird song
A much more comprehensive app is Birdnet, developed by Chemnitz University of Technology and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: According to Friedrich, the app contains a good 3000 species and also an audio determination function: an algorithm analyzes sound recordings of birdsong and outputs a result.
Plants app help people to identify, care for and manage plants
A plants app is a mobile application (app) designed to help people identify, care for and manage plants. These apps typically offer a variety of plant-related features and information, such as plant identification, care instructions, disease and pest control, watering and fertilizing tips, interactive gardener diaries, and much more.
More application examples and cool features of plant apps:
Plant Identification: One of the most useful features of plant apps is plant identification. Using image recognition technology, users can upload a photo of a plant and the app can identify the plant species or variety. This is especially helpful for home gardeners who want to know the name of a plant they just discovered. Care Guides: Plant apps often provide detailed information on caring for different types of plants. They provide guidance on proper watering, lighting, soil conditions, fertilization, and other aspects of plant care. This allows users to better understand the needs of their plants and ensure proper care. Disease and Pest Control: Plants can be affected by various diseases and pests. Plant apps provide information about common problems, symptoms, diagnostics, and treatment methods. Users can upload photos of sick plants and get treatment advice. Gardener’s Journal and Reminders: Some plant apps allow users to keep a gardener’s journal where they can record information about their plants, growth progress, notes, and pictures. In addition, they can set reminders and notifications for watering times, fertilizing or other plant care activities. Community Sharing: Many plant apps offer a community feature where users can share their experiences, questions, and tips with other plant lovers. This promotes the exchange of knowledge, mutual support and the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others.
Greentech apps – further examples
Some other popular planting apps include PlantSnap, PictureThis, Plantsome, GardenTags, and FlowerChecker. These apps can be used by both novice and experienced gardeners to take better care of their plants, identify problems and get tips on how to improve plant growth.