Bridging eLTER Data Reporting Format: enabling interoperable biodiversity and ecological data publication across research infrastructures
Alessandro Oggioni · Semantic Interoperability and Standards Infrastructure
The short versioneLTER is aligning its CSV-based data reporting format with Darwin Core and Frictionless data packages to make long-term ecological data more FAIR.
What this was about
Alessandro Oggioni presents the eLTER Research Infrastructure, a pan-European network of long-term ecological sites, and its Data Reporting Format: a zip of CSV tables (method, reference, station, event, sample, licence and data) described by a specification on Zenodo. To improve interoperability, eLTER built a vocabulary of its template terms mapped to Darwin Core where possible and an R function that converts reports into Frictionless data packages. In Q&A he said Darwin Core Data Package largely suffices, but the strong link between data and monitoring sites/facilities is missing.
Why it matters. Bridging long-term ecological monitoring data with biodiversity standards enables cross-infrastructure reuse.
In the room
- eLTER RI studies structure, processes and functions of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and transitional ecosystems; entered the ESFRI roadmap about 10 years ago.
- Sites collect ecosystem, chemical, soil, atmospheric and biological parameters.
- Data Reporting Format: relational-like CSV tables zipped together; specification published on Zenodo.
- Vocabulary of template terms with Darwin Core matches and URIs where available.
- R function generates Frictionless data packages from eLTER reports.
- Future: automated publication workflows.
Notable moments
Transcript
Automatically generated captions can contain mistakes, especially in names and technical terms. Times are relative to the room recording.
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