Pladias platform: Technical description of the database structure

Area of Science:

• Botany
• Biodiversity Informatics
• Ecology

Background:

• Digitizing and aggregating local floristic data is crucial for biodiversity studies.
• The Pladias platform is a web-based system developed in the Czech Republic for vascular plant data.
• Integrating occurrence data with species characteristics offers significant potential for data analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the relational structure and platform architecture of the Pladias database service (PladiasDB).
• To detail the approaches used for modeling species occurrence records and species characteristics within PladiasDB.
• To summarize the operational experience of the Pladias platform over its first five years.

Main Methods:

• Designing a complex relational database structure (PladiasDB) to accommodate diverse floristic data.
• Implementing data management, validation, and export functionalities for species occurrence records.
• Developing quality control tools for species characteristics data and distinct user interfaces for different user groups.

Main Results:

• The PladiasDB structure successfully integrates species occurrence records and characteristics data.
• The platform provides tools for data validation, map generation, and quality control.
• Separate user interfaces cater to both professional researchers and the general public.

Conclusions:

• The Pladias platform provides a robust framework for managing and analyzing vascular plant data.
• The integrated approach facilitates biodiversity research and data synthesis.
• Five years of operation have provided valuable insights into platform development and user engagement.