Biodiversity

Recent discussions within the biodiversity informatics community have highlighted the need to broaden and improve our basic data models to better reflect the richness of biodiversity and provide the information needed to address the paired challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change.

In this project, we will consult community members on the development of a new FAIR data model that encompasses long-term biodiversity monitoring data from newly developing biodiversity monitoring projects around the world and makes it easier to integrate, share and reuse. The aim of the consultation is to identify improvements to data models and processes that could then in turn lead to improvements in the Darwin Core (DwC) standard and its implementation of FAIR principles.

As a leader in open and reusable data before the FAIR principles were developed, GBIF has an influential role in generating FAIR data throughout biodiversity sciences. All data mobilized through the GBIF network is completely free and open access with all metadata easily available. Nevertheless, the biodiversity community has determined that it is time to revisit GBIF’s core data model so that it can better implement FAIR data integration, especially in connection to the growing Digital Extended Specimen initiative. It is also becoming critically important to meet the growing need to enable the integration of new data types, especially DNA-derived data, and to better connect the growing long-term biodiversity monitoring data that isn’t currently well connected to the global data network. Through FAIR recommendations and assessments, and a new FAIR interoperability framework at the heart of the GBIF data model, our goal is to improve our processes and thereby help the global biodiversity community to implement FAIR data standards.

Partner

Work Package Lead

Joe Miller, Global Biodiversity Information Facility

Biodiversity Featured Outputs

D9.1 Data standard for sharing ecological and environmental monitoring data documented for community review

This report describes the FAIR data model being developed in WorldFAIR with GBIF leading a community collaboration. GBIF’s engagement with the biodiversity community has led to a new draft core Unified Model, developed in collaboration with the Biodiversity Information Standards Group (TDWG) and through community consultation.