The Online Plant Risk Evaluator Tool (PRE) is based upon a model for ornamental plant risk evaluation developed by Christiana Conser, Joseph M. DiTomaso, David W. Fujino, Sarah Reichard, Lizbeth Seebacher and published (Conser et al., 2015).
The online PRE Tool was created in 2016 to increase ease of use, grow the database of evaluations, and facilitate collaborative opportunities and information sharing beyond California. It includes several features for users, such as: a database of PRE assessments and species, a plant photo library, a global bibliography, a climate matching tool, third party review and issue tracking, a PDF generator, user profiles and roles, user training, and group administration functions. PRE, while designed to be used solely for horticultural plants, now aims to equip the larger community of invasive plant prevention networks, land managers, and agencies, as well as the horticultural sector, public gardens, and related groups across North America, with a practical, standardized screening tool to better understand and to prevent potentially high-risk plants from being introduced or sold in regions where they are likely to become invasive.
In 2025, PRE upgraded to a newer content management system (Drupal 10). This change brought with it a new look and several additional enhancements, including public access to its large database of published assessments, species, and photos. Additionally, substantial changes were made to the linked climate matching tool, which improved visualization and, in 2026, incorporated updated climate layers and other refinements. PRE continues to be refined and updated on an ongoing basis.
Many individuals that have generously shared their wisdom, time, and guidance in developing and maintaining the Online PRE Tool and database over the years. Funding has also been provided from many sources, both to develop PRE and to expand its network. An initial 2016-2017 Farm Bill grant to PlantRight was critical to beta-testing PRE, seeding the database, and developing a network of users. This work would not have been possible without the development and ongoing website maintenance efforts of web developer Dave Waetjen.
Funding and in-kind programmatic support has been provided by:
- Cal-IPC
- Horticultural Research Institute (to ***?)
- PlantRight
- Sustainable Conservation
- USDA Farm Bill (to ***)
- USDA US Forest Service Special Technology Development Program (to Cal-IPC)
- Western Integrated Pest Management Center (to Cal-IPC)
Conser C, Seebacher L, Fujino DW, Reichard S, DiTomaso JM (2015) The Development of a Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE) Tool for Assessing the Invasive Potential of Ornamental Plants. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0121053. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121053
For more information, see our about page: About the Online PRE Tool and Database.