The database for inventory, monitoring, and assessment (DIMA)

Land managers increasingly need to collect, store, and analyze monitoring and assessment datasets that include multiple methods and occur over multiple years. The Database for Inventory,Monitoring and Assessment (DIMA) is a highly customizable software tool for data collection, management, and interpretation. DIMA is a free Microsoft Access database that can be used easily without extensive knowledge of Access (download DIMA from http://jornada.nmsu.edu/monit-assess/dima/download). Data can be entered for common, nationally accepted vegetation and soil monitoring methods in the field using a Tablet PC (touch screen entry) or in the office on a standard computer (keyboard entry) with user-specified choice lists.