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Updated: May 13, 2026

A Telemetric, Gravimetric Platform for Real-Time Physiological Phenotyping of Plant–Environment Interactions
Published on: August 5, 2020
CartograTree: connecting tree genomes, phenotypes and environment.
Hans A Vasquez-Gross1, John J Yu, Ben Figueroa
1Department of Plant Sciences, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Researchers developed CartograTree, an integrated workspace connecting forest tree genomic, environmental, and phenotypic data. This platform simplifies data analysis for ecological and evolutionary studies.
Area of Science:
- Forest tree biology
- Bioinformatics
- Computational ecology
Background:
- Researchers face challenges in integrating diverse data for forest tree studies.
- Current methods for data aggregation and visualization are time-consuming.
- A unified platform is needed to connect environmental, genomic, and phenotypic data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an integrated web-based workspace for forest tree biology research.
- To connect biotic and abiotic data using modern technologies.
- To facilitate research on forest tree ecology, physiology, and evolution.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of Simple Semantic Web Architecture and Protocol.
- Integration of the DiversiTree genomic query workspace and CartograTree geographical interface.
- Connection to the TreeGenes database for housing genomic data.
- Development of an interactive workspace for geographical visualization and high-performance computing (HPC) resource engagement.
Main Results:
- Successful integration of DiversiTree and CartograTree with the TreeGenes database.
- Enabled communication between the TreeGenes genomics database and semantic web services.
- Provided a novel interactive geographical interface for data exploration.
- Facilitated the connection of environmental, genomic, and phenotypic data via geo-referenced coordinates.
Conclusions:
- CartograTree offers a unique toolset for forest tree research.
- The platform streamlines data integration and analysis for ecological and evolutionary studies.
- Web-based workspaces leveraging semantic web technologies can significantly advance biological research.
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