Artificial Intelligence to our assistance.
@jeanphilippeb, - who has to have earned our undying gratitude: many thanks!!!!! has been playing at finding lost tree observations that have never been identified - https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/jeanphilippeb/73398-draft-for-creating-projects-for-unknown-observations
This is no mean task! It uses the Ai, and our national tree list, and several tricks to generate lists of observations that are probably trees.
(Unfortunately, i have not been able to convince him to add the AI ID as an identification or as a field, but in time we might get there. )
These observations can be found here:
Identifications by the AI that are from the national tree list:
• 1. (No ID yet + Not in project + c.v. suggestions >20 matching + trees s Afr).
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/unknown-trees-of-southern-africa-1
• 2. (No ID yet + Not in project + No not-tree IDs > 20 + >8 seen nearby of which <2 are not-tree).
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/unknown-trees-of-southern-africa-2
I have no automated procedure for removing identified observations (but it is feasible), in order to spare ressources (1 API request / observation to remove) and also because we could wish to do future statistics (such as who has used the project for identifying).
Moreover, if we add also Plantae/.../Dicots identified observations to the project(s), removing identified observations could be conflicting.
I suggest to help people by providing a link with identified=false (or equivalent), as you did already.
As some of these are being identified, it makes sense to to use the ID tool as such:
Please read the notes: the AI will identify observations as trees if trees are in the picture, but the observation may be for something more obscure. Please dont ID grasses or insects as trees just because the AI says that there are trees in the pictures.
• For trees by AI: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=casual%2Cneeds_id&verifiable=any&project_id=152985&captive=false&place_id=any
this is for wild only, switch off this option to get planted trees as well
(or for captive only: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=casual&verifiable=any&project_id=152985&captive=true&place_id=any )
• For possible trees by AI: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=casual%2Cneeds_id&verifiable=any&project_id=152974&captive=false