Aquatic Plant Information Retrieval System (APIRS)Aquatic plant information retrieval system from the Center for Aquatic plants, University of Florida. 72,000+ citation on ecology, physiology, utilization, and control. Free to the public.
Aquatic Plant Information Retrieval System (APIRS) database now includes more than 72,000 citations, and continues to be the largest free database of its kind in the world. Beginning as a mainframe, punch-card database of a few hundred references about water hyacinths, the APIRS database now contains citation and keyword records for scientific articles and reports about uncounted species of aquatic, wetland and invasive plants. The database has been used many thousands of times by researchers, government agencies, companies, teachers, students and private groups and individuals. Users can request searches of the database or they can access the database themselves, online.
The database originally was meant to be a source of information for "aquatic weed" workers in developing countries, and was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development for that purpose. It quickly became a source of information for workers in Florida as well, gaining the support of the then Bureau of Aquatic Plant Management of the Florida Department of Natural Resources (now the Bureau of Invasive Plant Management of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection). USAID ceased sponsorship of the database in the early 1980s.
The DEP Bureau continues to be a primary sponsor of the APIRS program. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Aquatic Plant Control Research Program has provided significant support in the past. The program also is supported by the St. Johns River Water Management District, with occasional special-project support coming from other agencies and companies such Cerexagri-Nisso LLC.
