Biodiversity Informatics is the study of data and process management required to effectively perform biodiversity research. Primarily this takes the form of modelling taxonomic processes and creating data bases and applications based upon those models that both streamline and enhance such research. Biodiversity Informatics can therefore be considered to an enabling discipline intended to support the work of botanists, zoologists and the like.
The RBGE has a long history of interest in this field and has been developing taxonomic data bases since the early 1990s. Current research is intended to develop systems that allow the RBGE Major Floras team to control and manage the production of a floristic project right through from project inception to final publication.
Current design goals emphasise the need to maximise the level of sharing of common data across projects both globally through contribution and access to projects such as the Biodiversity Information Facility, and internally through common access to shared data such as specimen catalogues. Nevertheless we will retain the ability of individual projects to develop their own world view so as not to hinder scientific progress.
We are also seeking to enhance the ability of taxonomists to develop an increasingly wide range of end products targeted at and tailored to a variety of distinct end user groups using a range of publication media. For example all access to RBGE data via this web site is mediated by RBGE developed biodiversity informatics software.
