Request

Greetings, @Giovanni Caudullo: ! I have seen that you are the creator of the wonderful maps showing the range of different tree species. I would like to ask you when you find time to update the map of Pinus brutia's range with an "X" showing its limited natural range in Bulgaria. Its distribution in Bulgaria can be seen here. Best regards, --Gligan1 (talk) 09:00, 10 January 2018 (UTC)

Thanks @Gligan1: for your review. I will update the map of Pinus brutia soon. --Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 09:17, 10 January 2018 (UTC)

Response on Betula pubescens map change comment.

Does this source work for you? Howpper (talk) 10:30, 10 January 2019 (UTC)

Yes, that's perfect. I will try to find some specific reference with the complete species distribution in Greenland. Thanks a lot.

A goat for you!

Thank you for all your photos

Firestar464 (talk) 11:30, 3 November 2020 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
	Thanks for all those thorough maps of trees and shrub species you created! AndersenAnders (talk) 15:09, 15 December 2020 (UTC)

Thank you for the maps!

Hi Giovanni, thank you very much for building these maps, they are very useful.

Is creating these maps something very manual and laborious? Do you know if there is any tutorial or public documentation on how to create them? I would love to learn how to create them, but I don't know if it is feasible for me to learn (I am not a graphic designer, I am a software developer). At this point, I don't know how to start (what tools could be used, what source images are available, etc.).

For example, I would like to create European distribution maps for Acer monspessulanum and Bupleurum fruticosum.

Is there any chance you could provide some steps or links to documentation?

Many thanks!

--Pere Orga (talk) 13:33, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

Hi @Pere Orga: I'm happy my maps can be useful. To create these maps, I used a GIS software (Geographic Information System). Nothing so complicated, but you need to understand how they work and how to visualise and show correctly the spatial layers. I suggest to start with QGIS, a free and open-source software. Online you can find thousands of tutorials (for example the official manual).

The hardest part is to import into your GIS project all spatial information of the species from different sources (such as sample points, images from books, grids from atlases, etc.), overlap them and draw manually the species range. This operation requires a more advanced skill and a bit of time to be learnt.

As I work on woody plants, the Acer monspessulanum is on my To-Do list.

Hope this could be of help.

--Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 07:42, 5 July 2021 (UTC)

Use a map in a work to be published?

Hi Giovanni, I am working on a children’s book that will have science lesson plans and all profits are donated to a State Park in USA. I would like to use your map on the range of the Sessile Oak in the science lesson. What reference/citation/acknowledgment would you like printed with its use? Would I just cite your name, Wikimedia Commons and “This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.”? Thank you so much! 217.180.192.227 19:42, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

Hi, thanks for your interest in our maps and for using one of them in a book. The correct reference for these distribution maps is the paper where the work was presented:

Caudullo, G., Welk, E., San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., 2017. Chorological maps for the main European woody species. Data in Brief 12, 662-666.

The license is optional but appreciated. Thanks again.

--- Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 08:17, 1 August 2022 (UTC)

Pretty maps !

		The Barnstar of Peace
		For bringing the wisdom of both forests and maps to the realm of Wikimedia. Yug (talk) 21:13, 13 December 2025 (UTC)

thanks @Yug for the Barnstar of Peace! I'm happy to contribute with my own experience and to help the community with the species maps. I look forward to continuing my work. Best, Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 13:09, 16 December 2025 (UTC)

Legende · Notation · Zeichen

Bitte auch die in der Karte erfassten [farbigen] Diagonal- Kreuze in der Legende erklären. Danke. ~2026-82247 (talk) 02:20, 5 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks @~2026-82247 for spotting this. I modified the legends where the indications of the symbols were missing. Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 08:34, 7 January 2026 (UTC)

Thanks. ~2026-82247 (talk) 07:22, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

Malus florentina

Hi @Giovanni Caudullo! First of all, thank you for these wonderful maps! I have found a source that neatly summarizes the known distribution of Malus florentina, and I would be interested in making a distribution map for the species based on it. I am not the best with GIS, but I could see this as a worthwhile challenge. However, as this is a European tree species, I thought it best to ask you first whether the species is already on your to-do list; if so, I would refrain from interfering in your field of expertise. Best, 19:56, 9 April 2026 (UTC) AndersenAnders (talk) 19:56, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi @AndersenAnders, thanks for your appreciation and asking me to map this species. I will do it soon. I think the source is very valuable and enough to create a good distribution map for this European tree species. I will inform you when it will be published and if, you want, you can give me your feedback. Cheers Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 16:14, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi Giovanni, excellent, that was the answer I was hoping for! Looking forward to the map. Cheers AndersenAnders (talk) 17:24, 10 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi @AndersenAnders, I created the distribution map of Malus florentina. I found other sources, mainly from Italy, that I added to the map. The references are not yet in the page, I need more time to complete the list. Meanwhile, let me know if the map is fine with you. Thanks Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 09:07, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

It's great, thank you so much! I have one question that is not intended as criticism: on which basis did you create the continuous ranges? Was it just areas with many reported localities, or did you have other information at your disposal (e.g. anecdotal evidence such as: "the species is common also in surrounding areas")? AndersenAnders (talk) 12:53, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

@Giovanni Caudullo Can I include the map in the species article, or would you prefer to wait until the literature list is completed? AndersenAnders (talk) 12:55, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

@AndersenAnders, you can even criticise, I'm pretty open. The continuous range is when there are many occurrence points on top of each other at the map scale. So, the population continuity is scale dependent, even if in many cases the report was for an isolated plant. Obviously, if you zoom in, those points can be far, but it is a simplification I use to design these distribution maps. Moreover, for North Italy, I found a province in the northern side of Apennines range with a public flora atlas with many occurrences. Another province on a side of the first, same environments, one occurrence. It is likely nobody detected it. So, in same cases I can extrapolate the continuity based on habitats (if I'm familiar with).

Concerning the use of the map, I prefer to finalise it and add the literature before. Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 13:50, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

I understand: I think this is a reasonable assumption to make. Are you familiar with the species? I've never seen it before, but I would love to see it one day.

Ok, I will not include the map before you've added the literature. And no stress, take all the time you need. Again, thank you, also for the extra research you've put into creating this map. AndersenAnders (talk) 19:50, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

@AndersenAnders, I completed the literature, so the map can be used. I only miss to add the DOI of the vector layers, but I cannot upload them to Figshare. Maybe a temporary problem, I will try later.

Concerning the species, I'm not familiar with this Malus (never seen either), I'm with the Apennines habitats. Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 09:46, 29 April 2026 (UTC)

Perfect, thank you so much! Besides – and I know that this is much to ask for – but do you think you could also make a map for Malus trilobata? It has a fairly typical East Mediterranean mountain distribution (like Juniperus drupacea, Cedrus libani, Abies cilicica etc.), but can also be found in Greek and Bulgarian Thrace. Unfortunately, the species is nowhere near as well mapped as M. florentina is: the only comprehensive map that I know of is by Browicz, but it is from 1976, and does not feature coordinates. The species has been thoroughly surveyed in Lebanon, Greece and Bulgaria, but Turkey and Syria remain largely blind spots. There are a couple of observations on Inat, too. I realise that this map will be significantly harder to make, but would you be willing to try? Cheers, AndersenAnders (talk) 12:32, 5 May 2026 (UTC)

@AndersenAnders I was already collecting data for M. trilobata. So, yes, it is in the pipeline. I will inform you when it is ready. Cheers Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 12:17, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

Excellent! AndersenAnders (talk) 12:39, 6 May 2026 (UTC)

THi @AndersenAnders, the map of Malus trilobata is ready to be used. Giovanni Caudullo (talk) 14:39, 22 June 2026 (UTC)

Exceptional work, thank you! AndersenAnders (talk) 16:03, 22 June 2026 (UTC)