Sharing botanical information using geospatial databases

Abstract

Current botanical databases store taxonomic and specimen data, and can be queried using standard text-based queries. A sim- ple example is retrieving all recorded specimens of Metasequoia glyp- tostroboides. In some botanical databases, this might result in a set of georeferenced results. However, they lack the ability to provide spatial queries, such as finding all occurrences of Metasequoia living in the FEUP campus area. We propose a flexible platform for querying a spatially-enabled database. This platform can support a botanical database, extended with spatial querying capabilities. The details of the underlying database are hidden from its clients, but efficiency in handling spatial data and its spatial querying potential are essential. For full backwards compatibility, spatial queries can be blended with standard queries. This solution is technology- independent from the clients’ point of view and uses the Darwin Core standard format for botanical information exchange.