Download Gries - GIS at NACSE

Considerations for the
Construction of Lichen
Databases
Data Management
Relational Database
Platforms
Excel
 MS Access, Paradox, etc.
 SQL Server
 Oracle / Sybase

Excel
Not recommended for long-term
storage
 No data-typing enforcement

Excel
MS Access, Paradox, Etc.
Desktop database systems
 Do not scale well
 Front-end application development
 Free / cheap and fairly beginner
friendly

SQL Server
Microsoft’s database engine for
larger scale databases
 Serving live data on the web
possible

Oracle / Sybase
Enterprise size database systems
 High cost and maintenance
 Support for data exchange
 Recommended if provided

General Database Design
Consideration

Databases should be designed to
serve the data best not a particular
question
General Database Design
Consideration

Avoid storing redundant information
by designing several tables, linking
information as necessary
General Database Design
Consideration

Keep information as consistent as
possible (e.g. spelling of collector
names, description of places)
• Authority tables
• Input masks
General Database Design
Consideration
General Database Design
Consideration

Take advantage of data-typing
• Dates in date fields
• Numbers in number fields
• Don’t mix letters and numbers if possible
(collection number, lat long)
General Database Design
Consideration
For any kind of descriptive
information (e.g. substrate) consider
developing and keyword taxonomy
(e.g. bark, coniferous tree,
Juniperus deppeana)
 The better the keywords the more
efficient the information retrieval

General Database Design
Consideration

Develop a species checklist for your
area or use an existing one to
assure highest taxonomic accuracy
possible
ASU’s Data Model
Annotations
Types
Secondary Compounds
Specimens
TLC Records
Exsiccati
Localities
Multiple Identifications
R. Schoeninger
ASU’s Data Model

Authority tables
• Species check list (accepted names,
synonyms, authors)
• List of ecological keywords
• List of substrates
• List of collectors and determiners
• List of localities
Database Types and
Implications for Use
Collections or taxonomic databases
 Observation databases
 Measurement databases

Collections or Taxonomic
Databases
Based on collected specimens
 Highest degree of taxonomic
information
 Information on distribution varies
 No information on abundance

Observation Databases
Based on a sampling design for
observations
 Emphasis on absence/presence or
abundance
 Taxonomic value varies

Measurement Databases

Data on the ecology of a species
• Laboratory measurements
• Data from a literature search
Interoperability
Distributed
Databases
HTML
Search
Application
Registering
Service
&
Data
Discovery
Tool
&
Target
Manager
Meta data
Query
Results
Meta Data

Data about data
Taxonomic: NBII, ISO
 Spatial: FGDC, ISO
 Ecological: EML
 Air management?

Standardization Efforts
Geo-referencing the data
 Metadata standard
 Keyword standard

Taxonomic thesaurus (ITIS)
 Geographic thesaurus (Alexandria)
