BIEN : A biodiversity informatics ecosystem advancing open and reproducible workflows for plant observation, plot and trait data
Methods in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 17, pp. 1556–1584
Abstract
Abstract The rapid expansion of biodiversity data presents new opportunities to understand and forecast biosphere dynamics. However, disparate and dispersed data, taxonomic and geographic inconsistencies, pervasive quality issues, and a lack of reproducable workflows hinder synthesis, introduce biases and limit accurate assessment of biodiversity trends. The Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) addresses these challenges through two core contributions: (1) an ecosystem of modular, open‐source BIEN tools for collecting, harmonizing, validating, integrating, visualizing and analysing biodiversity data, and (2) a standardized, augmented and integrated global database (BIEN db) of plant occurrences, traits and geographic ranges. BIEN tools—including the Taxonomic Name Resolution Service (TNRS), Geographic Name Resolution Service (GNRS), Geocoordinate Validation Service (GVS) and Native Species Resolver (NSR)—enable the construction of analysis‐ready data sets. Using this framework, we integrated over 284 million botanical observation records. BIEN db (current version 4.2) is so far the most extensive compilation of standardized observation records and plant traits (25,932,454 unique trait observation records) for land plants, drawn from herbaria, ecological plots, citizen science and trait databases and integrated into a unified geospatial platform. Here, we present the BIEN workflow, the database and several use cases. The BIEN workflow and database support reproducible biodiversity science at scale. BIEN provides improved and unprecedented trait coverage, new estimates of total plant species richness, geographic ranges for over 250,000 species and global maps of plant biodiversity. These tools enable researchers to integrate disparate biodiversity observation records, generate tailored data sets, resolve taxonomic and geographic ambiguities, and estimate species richness across spatial and temporal scales for conservation and forecasting applications. BIEN provides a scalable, open and reproducible informatics platform that integrates global plant biodiversity data. By linking data infrastructure with accessible tools, BIEN democratizes biodiversity science. It enhances transparency, reproducibility and analytical capacity across the research community, enabling more scientists to address a wider range of questions in ecology, evolution and biodiversity science and engage in global change biology and biodiversity forecasting. BIEN offers a robust Open Science platform to understand and respond to the biodiversity crisis.
Authors 39
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Brian Joseph Enquist corresponding
Santa Fe Institute · University of Arizona
Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
The Santa Fe Institute Santa Fe New Mexico USA
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Integrative Biology University of South Florida St. Petersburg Florida USA
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Affiliation as printed
Eversource Energy Center and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut USA
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Affiliation as printed
Eversource Energy Center and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut USA
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology University of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina USA
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology James Madison University Harrisonburg Virginia USA
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Korea University · Purdue University West Lafayette
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biological Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA
Division of Life Sciences Korea University Seoul Republic of Korea
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University of Arizona · University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
Department of Integrative Biology University of South Florida St. Petersburg Florida USA
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Affiliation as printed
Moore Center for Science Conservation International Arlington Virginia USA
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Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas · Institut Botànic de Barcelona
Affiliation as printed
Botanical Institute of Barcelona, CSIC‐CMCNB Barcelona Spain
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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BlackSky Global (United States)
Affiliation as printed
BlackSky Seattle Washington USA
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California Native Plant Society · San Bernardino Valley College
Affiliation as printed
Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences San Bernardino Valley College San Bernardino California USA
Rare Plant Program California Native Plant Society Sacramento California USA
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Université de Montpellier · Diversité, adaptation et développement des plantes · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Affiliation as printed
DIADE, Université Montpellier, CIRAD, IRD Montpellier France
Naturalis Biodiversity Center Leiden The Netherlands
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University of California, Santa Barbara · National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Affiliation as printed
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, NCEAS University of California Santa Barbara California USA
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Affiliation as printed
St. Louis Missouri USA
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University of California, Los Angeles
Affiliation as printed
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles California USA
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile · Center for Mathematical Modeling · University of Chile
Affiliation as printed
Centro de Cambio Global UC Santiago Chile
Centro de Modelamiento Matemático (CMM) Universidad de Chile‐IRL 2807 CNRS Beauchef 851 Santiago Chile
Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago Chile
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Affiliation as printed
Mitchell Center for Sustainability Science University of Maine Orono Maine USA
School of Biology and Ecology University of Maine Orono Maine USA
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Affiliation as printed
Data Science Institute, University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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Affiliation as printed
Section for Biodiversity, Globe Institute University of Copenhagen København Denmark
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Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Biological Sciences Federal University of Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Brazil
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Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Biological Sciences Federal University of Minas Gerais Belo Horizonte Brazil
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University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology University of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina USA
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Affiliation as printed
School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UK
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biology Santa Clara University Santa Clara California USA
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University of California, Santa Barbara · National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
Affiliation as printed
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, NCEAS University of California Santa Barbara California USA
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Theoretical Study Charles University Praha Czech Republic
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science Charles University Praha Czech Republic
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Naturalis Biodiversity Center · Utrecht University
Affiliation as printed
Naturalis Biodiversity Center Leiden The Netherlands
Quantitative Biodiversity Dynamics, Faculty of Science Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO), Department of Biology Aarhus University Aarhus Denmark
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New York Botanical Garden · Denver Botanic Gardens
Affiliation as printed
Denver Botanic Gardens Denver Colorado USA
New York Botanical Garden Bronx New York USA
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · École Pratique des Hautes Études · Université de Montpellier · Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
Affiliation as printed
CEFE, Université Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD Montpellier France
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Affiliation as printed
Quantitative Biodiversity Dynamics, Faculty of Science Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
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Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research
Affiliation as printed
Manaaki Whenua, Landcare Research Lincoln New Zealand
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