Description
Data Records
The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 753,010 records.
This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.
Versions
The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.
How to cite
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
Brosens D, Piesschaert F, De Bruyn A D B, Jacobs I, Kumpen M, Erens R, Dhaluin P, Guelinckx R, Van Oost F, Paredis R, Van Hecke B, De Saeger S, Vercruysse W, Boumon T, Cool R, Van Gompel W, Provoost S, Jansen J, Bosteels Y, Demolder H, Hennebel D, Vandendriessche J, Spanhove T, Dekeukeleire D, Van Kerckvoorde A, Van Uytvanck J, Van Landuyt W (2025). INBO collaborator Occurrences of plants recorded in waarnemingen.be in Flanders, Belgium. Version 1.2. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=inbo-collaborator-plantae&v=1.2
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.
GBIF Registration
This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 74ca7ce5-9a5b-46a6-b7d4-f60bab77900f. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Belgian Biodiversity Platform.
Keywords
Occurrence; Observation
Contacts
- Metadata Provider ●
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0846-9116
- Originator
- Originator
- Originator
- Originator
Geographic Coverage
Belgium
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [49.496, 2.55], North East [51.497, 6.374] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
No Description available
| Kingdom | Plantae |
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Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 2019-01-03 / 2024-12-31 |
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Sampling Methods
The dataset primarily consists of opportunistic and semi-structured plant observations recorded during INBO fieldwork. Observers used standardized tools such as the ObsMapp mobile application and the waarnemingen.be platform to document species presence. While some data were collected through systematic surveys (e.g. vegetation mapping or monitoring transects), the majority of records reflect opportunistic sampling guided by expert knowledge of local flora. Observations include both common and rare species, with a focus on accurate geolocation and taxonomic identification. All records tagged to INBO have undergone a quality control process, including expert verification where needed.
| Study Extent | The study covers vascular plant observations across the Flanders region of Belgium. Most records originate from targeted fieldwork conducted by INBO staff starting in 2019 to recent , complemented by incidental observations contributed by INBO collaborators and verified citizen scientists. Observations span a variety of habitats including forests, grasslands, agricultural areas, wetlands, and urban green spaces. The spatial extent reflects both systematic surveys in priority areas and opportunistic records across the broader landscape, offering a representative view of plant biodiversity in Flanders. |
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| Quality Control | All observations in this dataset tagged to INBO have undergone a quality control process to ensure reliability and consistency. Observations were submitted by trained INBO staff or collaborators and reviewed using validation tools integrated in the waarnemingen.be platform. Records were automatically screened for spatial, temporal, and taxonomic anomalies, and suspect records were flagged for expert review. In addition, many observations were manually verified by species experts within INBO or by moderators active on waarnemingen.be. Only records meeting INBO’s internal validation criteria were included in this dataset. |
Method step description:
- Data Collection: Observations were collected by INBO researchers, collaborators, and citizen scientists through the waarnemingen.be platform and the ObsMapp mobile application. Fieldwork was conducted across various habitats in Flanders, with a focus on plant species present in forests, wetlands, grasslands, and other ecosystems. Data were recorded in real-time, including species identification, location (GPS coordinates), and observation date.
- Data Entry and Upload: Field data were entered directly into the waarnemingen.be platform, which automatically synchronizes with the central Waarnemingen database. In some cases, observers manually uploaded field data collected offline to the platform.
- Data Validation: Once uploaded, records underwent automatic validation within waarnemingen.be, where checks for spatial and temporal consistency were performed. Additionally, records were reviewed for taxonomic accuracy by INBO experts or platform moderators. Any suspicious or ambiguous records were flagged and either corrected or excluded.
- Data Processing: The dataset was extracted from the Waarnemingen database and curated to ensure it included only relevant plant observations. Data were mapped and standardized to Darwin Core in SQLITE and R
- The final, validated dataset was released to the public under a Creative Commons Zero waiver, making it freely available for research, conservation, and educational purposes.
Additional Metadata
| Acknowledgements | This dataset was compiled with the support of the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of INBO staff who contributed field observations and data validation. Special thanks go to waarnemingen.be, ObsMapp, and to Natuurpunt for managing the Waarnemingen database infrastructure. Their ongoing support and collaboration are essential to the success of biodiversity data collection and sharing in Flanders. |
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| Purpose | This data is used for various INBO projects. |
| Alternative Identifiers | 74ca7ce5-9a5b-46a6-b7d4-f60bab77900f |
| https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=inbo-collaborator-plantae |