An integrative database system of agro-ecology for the black soil region of China

Abstract

The comprehensive database system of the Northeast agro-ecology of black soil (CSDB_BL) is user-friendly software designed to store and manage large amounts of data on agriculture. The data was collected in an efficient and systematic way by long-term experiments and observations of black land and statistics information. It is based on the ORACLE database management system and the interface is written in PB language. The database has the following mainfacilities:(1) runs on Windows platforms; (2) facilitates data entry from *.dbf to ORACLE or creates ORACLE tables directly; (3)has a metadata facility that describes the methods used in the laboratory or in the observations; (4) data can be transferred to an expert system for simulation analysis and estimates made by Visual C++ and Visual Basic; (5) can be connected with GIS, so it is easy to analyze changes in land use ; and (6) allows metadata and data entity to be shared on the internet. The following dataseis are included in CSDBJL: long-term experiments and observations of water, soil, climate, biology, special research projects, and a natural resource survey of Hailun County in the 1980s; images from remote sensing, graphs of vectors and grids, and statistics from Northeast of China. CSDB_BL can be used in the research and evaluation of agricultural sustainability nationally, regionally, or locally. Also, it can be used as a tool to assist the government in planning for agricultural development. Expert systems connected with CSDB_BL can give farmers directions for farm planting management.