Fig. 1 The interface of Google Earth. (A) Map browser zone: to move or zoom in/out the map and control data items by mouse operations; (B) Place mark data editor and ruler: to select and use by mouse clicks on icons; (C) Geo-data management area: right click on “My places” to enter quick menu to create folders, save and manage user geo-data; (D) Google Earth data layer management area: to choose and display data transferred from Google’s servers.

Fig. 2 Adding place-marks onto satellite maps. (A) Mountains and provincial capitals of China; (B) Mountains and county names of western Zhejiang Province; (C) The Gutian Mountain and nearby towns in Kaihua County, western Zhejiang Province.

Fig. 3 The circles with radius of 1 km, 2 km, 3 km, 4 km, 5 km, 10 km, 20 km, 50 km and with center points in the 24 ha Gutianshan Forest Plot. These are useful for regional biodiversity survey planning and route design.

Fig. 4 The plot grids of the 24 ha Gutian Mountain Forest Plots displayed upon satellite map by Google Earth

Fig. 5 To overlay and correct digitized printed map, kilometer grids of Gutianshan National Nature Reserve on Google Earth, then recognize and mark the location names.

Fig. 6 The route design for the Tianmu Mountain field exercise of the Plant Taxonomy Training Course of Chinese Union of Botanical Garden on June 7th, 2015. The Fuyu Hotel is the start point, the three lines with different colors are three routes to different directions, the outer ring with radius 1 km confines the area of field exercise.

Fig. 7 The main interface of the software OruxMaps 5.5.22