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Info on InfoBase
Collection of metadata about the LTER-Europe site and platform network
In order to enable data discovery, interpretation and, if applicable, data analysis, information about the “how, where, when, what, who, …” needs to be captured in an accessible and understandable manner. If adequate metadata is available, these data can be used for years or decades, either on their own or in combination with data from other sources (Karasti & Baker 2008, Karasti et al. 2007).
Metadata Collection
The LTER InfoBase has been developed as a site database to provide information about the LTER Sites and LTSER Platforms (see Haberl et al. 2006, Mirtl & Krauze 2007) which form the site network of ALTER-Net and LTER-Europe. There is a strong need for metadata about the inner structure, administration, data management and observations taken at the site or platform (Adamescu et al. 2007). The LTER InfoBase also contains information about the availability of current and historic data sets (Vadineanu et al. 2006) that are maintained by the sites, and the type of storage (database, spreadsheet, paper, etc.). The InfoBase metadata collection manages metadata at a different scale to other initiatives. For example EML (Ecological Markup Language, described by Michener et al. 1997) captures metadata at the level of an individual dataset or data table.
The basic metadata structure is shown in the table below. Three different levels of metadata description are distinguished for the LTER InfoBase: (a) basic level with description of location and biophysical characteristics (biogeographic regions, elevation, etc.), (b) administrative level with information about the management of the site (including contact information) and (c) observation level with information about observations and research questions. These levels are in principle compliant with the EML Level I to II.
Metadata blocks of the LTER InfoBase
|
Level |
Element |
Information |
Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Basic |
Site / Platform |
Biophysical characteristics Location Site status Characteristic habitats Record reference |
e.g. elevation, geographic coordinates, declaration status, EUNIS habitat categories, who edited the metadata record, etc. |
|
Administration |
Site / Platform |
Administration Site establishment Site abandonment Networks |
e.g. managed by person / institution, established in, abandoned in, ICP Forest, LTER Europe, etc. |
|
Observation |
Site / Platform |
Data management Data usage Research questions Research environment Sampling structure |
e.g. type of data storage, type of data usage, socio-economic topics, existing measurement devices, selection procedure of the site, etc. |
|
|
Experimental unit |
Observation |
e.g. parameter, method, unit of measurement, start of measurement, end of measurement, etc. |
|
Actor |
|
Contact information |
e.g. first name, last name, e-mail, contact address, etc. |
Data flow
The LTER InfoBase consists of several components: (a) a flexible metadata editor client which is installed locally at a site and allows the creation, editing and deletion of metadata about a site or platform; (b) a web-based meta data request viewer which includes the geographic representation of the sites by a Web-GIS client[1] (Schentz et al. 2005); and (c) an extensive description of the contents and help on the ALTER-Net WIKI[2]. The metadata are stored in a central database (e.g. MORIS; see Mirtl & Schentz 1997, Schentz & Mirtl 2003). The basic data flow is shown in the diagram below.
Data flow of the LTER InfoBase
Link to other relevant documents
http://www.alter-net.info/SITE/UPLOAD/DOCUMENT/outputs/ANet_WPI6_2006_03_Metadata_Report.pdf
Enquiries and further information
If you have further questions about InfoBase, or you wish to add or amend data, please contact the InfoBase administrator, Johannes Peterseil (johannes.peterseil@umweltbundesamt.at or LTERInfoBase@umweltbundesamt.at).
