This output format is the most used in EcoPlots. The file contains all the information about the sites, visits and ecological observations that apply to that dataset. The data in each CSV is grouped according to the Feature of interest selected with the filters during the search process. No further data filtering, cleaning or processing is necessary as data in each file can be analysed using any tool or programming language such as R or Python.
Two types of CSV files are included in each dataset package.
Data Packages
TERN data packages can be downloaded to the local machine in the form of compressed zip files. Once it is uncompressed, the folder structure contain a data folder with the CSV files (see below image).
Each CSV contains a common base set of columns to fully identify each record. Brief definitions of each column have been given in the table below.
Column | Description |
|---|---|
dataset | Datasource/Dataset to which this data row belongs to. |
project | Project to which this data row belongs to. |
siteName | Ecological site where data was collected. |
latitude | Latitude geographic coordinate of ecological site. |
longitude | Longitude geographic coordinate of ecological site. |
topParentSiteName | Greater site to which this ecological site belongs to. |
siteVisitName | Identificator of the visit to the site when data was collected. |
siteVisitStartDate | Starting date of the visit to the site. |
siteVisitEndDate | Ending date of the visit to the site. |
featureId | Unique identifier of the feature, e.g. stem-1a, tree-1, bird-0123456, specimen-ABC123. |
featureType | Feature of interest type, i.e. observed feature like plant individual, plant specimen, landform, weather, etc.). |
parentFeatureId | Unique identifier of the greater feature to which the current feature is part of, e.g. tree-1 -> stem-1b. |
This is how data appears inside the CSV:
Observations data specific to a Feature of interest
The columns in the image below are specific ecological observations that can be found in the columns to the right of the base data columns. Each row contains the ecological observations recorded during that sampling effort. The specific data included in each file is based on the filtering done during the EcoPlots searching process before the package generation.
Each observation consist of three columns:
Result of the observation: The column header shows the name of the ecological parameter (i.e. scientificName). Values for this column contain the actual results of the observations made, for instance, the species name of that feature.
Result time: When the observation was made.
Method: Link to the vocabulary of the Method/Procedure. Opening the link on any Internet browser will show all the information about the protocol following for collecting the data.
In very specific cases, there may be some extra columns that are included in the CSV. Those columns are the “attributes of the feature of interest” (i.e. plant-individual or soil-sample):
Attributes are easily identifiable because they consist exclusively of 1 column (there is no result time or method). These attributes are not ecological observations, but contains important information about the feature, i.e. the depth of the soil sample, or the relative position of a plant within the site.
Data dictionary
Along with the data CSVs, a “data_dictionary” is included in the package. It shows all columns included in the package, as well as their definitions and where to find additional information.
The “Additional information” column contains links to the controlled vocabularies of the specific attributes or parameter. Below is the definition of field species name in the TERN controlled vocabulary.
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