NEW_EcoPlots API request response / output formats

The Ecoplots API returns ready-to-use structured data in either a CSV or a NDJSON (aka jsonlines) format within the commandline interface.

Every row/line is an independent entity (i.e., observation, site, sitevisit, attribute, taxon, etc.) so you can parse the json object or csv row individually. There is no need to keep the whole output in memory if processing it programmatically.

You can easily change the output format for the data request by amending the URL parameter dformat within the cURL request.

NDJSON

cURL request example (ndjson format):

https://ecoplots-test.tern.org.au/api/v1.0/datasets?dformat=ndjson

Responses will return in the format shown below:

{'dataset': 'QBEIS', 'datasetId': 'http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/corveg', 'description': "The CORVEG Database contains ecosystem physical and vegetation characteristics, including structural and floristic attributes as well as descriptions of landscape, soil and geologic features, collected at study locations across Queensland since 1982. The resulting site database provides a comprehensive record of areas ground-truthed during the regional ecosystems mapping process and a basis for future updating of mapping or other relevant work such as species modelling.<br /><br /> Only validated CORVEG data is made publicly available and all records of confidential taxa have been masked from the dataset. Data is accessible from the TERN Data Infrastructure, which provides the ability to extract subsets of vegetation, soil and landscape data across multiple data collections and bioregions for more than 100 variables including basal area, crown cover, growth form, stem density and vegetation height. For a full list of parameters, see the <a href='http://linked.data.gov.au/def/corveg-cv/849324f6-ef5e-4505-b164-8a693256170e'>Queensland CORVEG Database Vocabularies</a>.", 'version': '2021-12-17', 'creator': 'Queensland Herbarium', 'publisher': 'TERN', 'citation': 'Queensland Herbarium (2022): Queensland CORVEG Database. Version 1.0.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). (Dataset). https://portal.tern.org.au/queensland-corveg-database/23267'}
{'dataset': 'TERN Surveillance Monitoring', 'datasetId': 'http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/ausplots', 'description': '<p> AusPlots is a collection of ecological data and samples gathered from a network of plots and transects across Australia by the TERN Ecosystem Surveillance team, using standardised methodologies. </p> <p>The AusPlots collection provides the ecological infrastructure to: </p> <ul><li>quantify the richness and cover of plant species (including weeds); </li><li>quantify the diversity and abundance of soil biodiversity; </li><li>assess the state, spatial heterogeneity and structural complexity of vegetation, including life-stage; </li><li>record vegetation and soil parameters that assist with the validation of remotely sensed ecological products;</li><li>analyse vegetation structure and change based on a series of photo reference images; </li><li>better estimate soil carbon and nutrient stocks; </li><li>conduct taxonomic validation studies based on collected plant voucher specimens; </li><li>conduct DNA barcoding and population genetic profiling based on collected tissue samples. </li></ul> <p> Overall this information will progress understanding of ecosystem processes, structure and function, and more generally progress understanding of the response to disturbance and longer-term environmental change of rangeland ecosystems, which underpins sustainable management practice.</p>.', 'version': '2022-03-05', 'creator': "Sparrow, B. , Tokmakoff, A. , Leitch, E. , Guerin, G. , O'Neill, S. , Macdonald, C. , Lowe, A. , Flitton, R. , Saleeba, T. , Coish, C. and TERN Surveillance", 'publisher': 'TERN', 'citation': "Sparrow, B. , Tokmakoff, A. , Leitch, E. , Guerin, G. , O'Neill, S. , McDonald, C. , Lowe, A. , Flitton, R. , Saleeba, T. , Coish, C. and TERN Surveillance (2021). TERN Surveillance monitoring program: Ecological Plot Survey Data and Samples collected from Field Sites across Australia. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN)."}

Response content-type: application/json

CSV

cURL request example (csv format):

https://ecoplots-test.tern.org.au/api/v1.0/datasets?dformat=csv

Responses will return in the format shown below:

dataset,datasetId,description,version,creator,publisher,citation
QBEIS,http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/corveg,"The CORVEG Database contains ecosystem physical and vegetation characteristics, including structural and floristic attributes as well as descriptions of landscape, soil and geologic features, collected at study locations across Queensland since 1982. The resulting site database provides a comprehensive record of areas ground-truthed during the regional ecosystems mapping process and a basis for future updating of mapping or other relevant work such as species modelling.<br /><br /> Only validated CORVEG data is made publicly available and all records of confidential taxa have been masked from the dataset. Data is accessible from the TERN Data Infrastructure, which provides the ability to extract subsets of vegetation, soil and landscape data across multiple data collections and bioregions for more than 100 variables including basal area, crown cover, growth form, stem density and vegetation height. For a full list of parameters, see the <a href='http://linked.data.gov.au/def/corveg-cv/849324f6-ef5e-4505-b164-8a693256170e'>Queensland CORVEG Database Vocabularies</a>.",2021-12-17,Queensland Herbarium,TERN,Queensland Herbarium (2022): Queensland CORVEG Database. Version 1.0.0. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). (Dataset). https://portal.tern.org.au/queensland-corveg-database/23267
TERN Surveillance Monitoring,http://linked.data.gov.au/dataset/ausplots,"<p> AusPlots is a collection of ecological data and samples gathered from a network of plots and transects across Australia by the TERN Ecosystem Surveillance team, using standardised methodologies. </p> <p>The AusPlots collection provides the ecological infrastructure to: </p> <ul><li>quantify the richness and cover of plant species (including weeds); </li><li>quantify the diversity and abundance of soil biodiversity; </li><li>assess the state, spatial heterogeneity and structural complexity of vegetation, including life-stage; </li><li>record vegetation and soil parameters that assist with the validation of remotely sensed ecological products;</li><li>analyse vegetation structure and change based on a series of photo reference images; </li><li>better estimate soil carbon and nutrient stocks; </li><li>conduct taxonomic validation studies based on collected plant voucher specimens; </li><li>conduct DNA barcoding and population genetic profiling based on collected tissue samples. </li></ul> <p> Overall this information will progress understanding of ecosystem processes, structure and function, and more generally progress understanding of the response to disturbance and longer-term environmental change of rangeland ecosystems, which underpins sustainable management practice.</p>.",2022-03-05,"Sparrow, B. , Tokmakoff, A. , Leitch, E. , Guerin, G. , O'Neill, S. , Macdonald, C. , Lowe, A. , Flitton, R. , Saleeba, T. , Coish, C. and TERN Surveillance",TERN,"Sparrow, B. , Tokmakoff, A. , Leitch, E. , Guerin, G. , O'Neill, S. , McDonald, C. , Lowe, A. , Flitton, R. , Saleeba, T. , Coish, C. and TERN Surveillance (2021). TERN Surveillance monitoring program: Ecological Plot Survey Data and Samples collected from Field Sites across Australia. Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN)."

Response content-type remains: application/json

Should you need or wish to export the request response output into a standalone file, append the following commands to the cURL request.

CSV output to a file → | tee -a output.csv
raw NDJSON output to a file → | tee -a output.json
if linted JSON is needed, use | jq -s | tee -a output.json