Ecosystem Information System Development

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The effectiveness of ecosystem modeling at regional and larger scales hinges on both the quality of the science underlying model formulation and the quality of the information system. This award will support the development of an object-oriented Ecosystem Information System (EIS) that addresses four key problems that plague large modeling efforts: (1) separation of the logical attribute of data sources from their implementation detail: (2) identification of key similarities and differences between different sources; (3) maintenance of numerous, large data set instances from various sources; and (4) maintenance of consistency in data set usage by simulation systems that combine inputs from a variety of sources. EIS development will included the active participation of both information systems and ecosystem modeling specialists. EIS will include two major components: a software support system and a collection of ecosystem research components implemented in (i.e., converted to) the object-oriented paradigm. The EIS software will be a robust distributed system that provides users in separate laboratories access to a common information resource. The research components to be implemented within EIS include important "public" data layers (e.g. soils, elevation, remote-sensed imagery), unique data layers derived through our research (e.g., climate hydrology, land cover), and locally developed simulation components that produce and analyze various data layers. The object-oriented paradigm supported by EIS will be readily extensible, allowing users to easily add new data sources (object classes), data set design and implementation will provide not only an example of how to build information systems to facilitate user access, but also permit researchers in a variety of biological disciplines to access an important collection of ecosystem components. This award is jointly supported by the Database Activities in the Biological Sciences and Ecological Studies programs.