A Generic Spatial Repository for Biodiversity Inventory Data

Debora P. Drucker, UNICAMP, Brasil

Rolf A. de By, ITC, The Netherlands

José Laurindo C. dos Santos, INPA, Brasil

Data Availability

• Making field survey data available to the many different stakeholders in biodiversity is one of the aims of the PPBio Program

wildlife managers, foresters, local councils,

local communities, fisheries biologists

pharmaceutical laboratories, scientists

conservationists, politicians

catchment management authorities

Biological Inventory Database - BID

Designed to allow the storage and future

retrieval of field data obtained in PPBio

standardized surveys throughout Amazonia

BID Repository Characteristics

• Generic - Accommodates data of any kind of inventory, even future ones for which the survey design still has to be established

• Spatially enabled - inventory observations of whatever kind are geographically referenced, at documented spatial precision levels

• Accommodates the support of end-users, such as scientists that conduct inventories, as well as future users of the data

A Generic Repository

• It is a priori unknown what kind of data will be

accumulated

• Statically defined tables do not satisfy the data

management needs of this application

• The data model for our application only

identifies truly generic notions such as Survey,

Survey Variable, Observation, Observer, Plot,

Researcher

Surveys

• A survey comprises methodical fieldwork in a area, usually at multiple locations in the area, over a known period of time

• Standardized observations are made at each of the locations

• Locations can be positions along an indicated trail, along the course of a creek or river, or fixed points on a grid system

Collecting and non-collecting surveys

• Collect material for a single survey location

• May generate additional observations in situ: time, humidity, substrate

• Generates a number of observations for each survey location

• Visual encounter surveys or auditory sampling

Locational and transect surveys• Some surveys, by

their design, list the exact locations at which observations will have to be made

• Tree surveys at defined plots

• Other surveys identify a transect along which observations are made

• Each observation registered individually with further positioning information (distance along the trail, distance from the trail)

• People– Researcher: survey

responsible– Personalized

survey:observer, responsible for each one of the observations or collecting events

• Subsurvey:– Additional

observations that cannot be directly connected with the main observations

– In avian studies, start time and end time of a transect visit important

Observations and survey variables

Rows:

data collected at a single survey location (at a single time)

Columns: survey variablesObservation

Survey variables values

N = number of attributes = 6P = Primary Key N – P => 6 – 2 = 4 new tables

Survey number 15

Survey localities• Reserve: study site,

a polygon a set of polygon features

• Trail: laid out path, a linestring

• Igarape: creek, a linestring

• Terrestrial, aquatic and riparian plots: points

• Along-trail-based locality and off-trail-based locality: points

Support of End-Users

• modular set-up that accommodates easily the support of end-users, such as scientists that conduct inventories, as well as future users of the data

• allows extensions of the system in the future with functions currently unknown

Challenges• Integration with Biological Collections Information

Systems

• Complete the function services, under strict genericity, consistency and robustness requirements.

• Demonstrate the system’s viability in practice

• Develop functional support for spatio-analytic work.

• Showcase the phenomenal potential for cross-correlation between surveys, and develop an application for end-users to do such scientific enquiries

Rolf A. de By, Debora P. Drucker & Laurindo C. Santos

“Base de dados para inventários de biodiversidade”

in: Oliveira, M. L., Baccaro, F.B., Braga-Neto, R., Magnusson, W. E. (Orgs.). In: Reserva Ducke: a biodiversidade amazônica através de uma grade. Manaus. Áttema Design Editorial, 2008. p. 145-160.

http://ppbio.inpa.gov.br/Port/public/LivroRFAD_ebook.pdf

• deboradrucker@gmail.com• deby@itc.nl• lcampos@inpa.gov.br

Acknowledgements

Thank you