Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
Free and open access to biodiversity data.
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organization that is working to make the world's biodiversity data accessible on a global basis.
NordGen provides the Nordic dataset on genetic resources as an open access and free public resource using the data sharing tools and infrastructure maintained and provided free of charge from GBIF. By using the GBIF data sharing technology (and contributing to its development), NordGen can easily share and contribute the dataset on the Nordic germplasm collection worldwide without duplicating the work of GBIF.
Use of GBIF data sharing technology, and integration of the datasets on Nordic genetic resources into GBIF, allows users of these data to simultaneously search the Nordic germplasm collection and other datasets on genetic resources worldwide, as well as datasets from other biodiversity collections and datasets. The development of new data portals and data sharing tools for Nordic germplasm data (integrated with other biodiversity datasets worldwide) can now be done with minimum effort! GBIF provides world class data sharing technology and web service components and eliminates the need at NordGen to develop similar components and basic data sharing solutions.
NordGen (NGB) became a member of GBIF and started the data-providing NODE in March 2004. NordGen (NGB) was the first seedbank (genetic resources) to join GBIF. Already later the same year other seedbanks started to share germplasm data with GBIF; IHAR (Poland, March 2004) and IPK Gatersleben (Germany, August 2004). Other seedbanks that started early sharing of germplasm data with GBIF were WUR CGN (Netherlands, December 2005), the USDA GRIN (USA, December 2005), EURISCO (European seedbank portal, February 2007), SINGER (CGIAR organizations, February 2007), and Banco de Germoplasma (CSIC, Spain).
Responsible:
Jonas Nordling
