An Information Infrastructure for Vegetation Science

植被分类对资源制图、保护规划和生态监测具有重要意义。该项目将提供信息基础设施VegBank，其中包括田间样地数据、所使用的植物分类群、群落分类和提出改变的机制。植被样地记录不仅是植物分类的基础，也是植物群落生态学研究的基础。一个用于获取、搜索和传播野外地块记录以对北美植被进行分类的系统的工作原型已经开发出来，并可在网上获得。素食银行是代表主要数据来源和用户的四家机构的合作。素食银行将作为一个强大的公共系统进行扩展和测试，供更广泛的植物生态社区使用。植物和群落分类模块将为分类歧义提供技术解决方案。该模块将填充来自协作组的数据。数据的共享和复制将通过允许连接使国际网络支持分布式查询来启用多个数据库。插件工具将促进用户社区的未来开发。所有的数据都可以通过网络访问。

Vegetation classification is critical for resource mapping, conservation planning and ecological monitoring. This project will provide the information infrastructure, VegBank, that will include field plot data, the plant taxa used, the community classification, and mechanisms for proposing changes. Vegetation plot records support not only classification, but also most research in plant community ecology. A working prototype of a system for acquiring, searching and disseminating field plot records for classifying North American vegetation has been developed and is available on the web. VegBank is a collaboration of four institutions that represent major data sources and users. VegBank will be expanded and tested as a robust, public system for use by the broader plant ecology community. The plant and community classification modules will provide a technical solution for taxonomic ambiguities. The module will be populated with data from collaborating groups. Sharing and replication of data will enable several databases by allowing for linkages that would make an international network supporting distributed queries. A plug-in tool will foster future development by the user community. All of the data will be web accessible.