Waarnemingen.be / observations.be - List of species observed in Belgium

Data Records

The data in this checklist 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 20,412 records.

1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

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:

Swinnen K, Bronne L, Herremans M, Gielen K, Adriaens T, Baartmans T, Baert D, Baltus H, Barendse R, Boeraeve M, Boers K, Bogaert J, Bosteels Y, Bouillard N, Claerebout S, De Knijf G, De Beer D, De Smedt P, De Cock R, De Grave D, De Ketelaere A, De Witte J, Deblauwe I, Decrick L, Dekeukeleire D, Deraedt H, Devalez J, D'Haeseleer J, Driessens G, Drukker D, Eysermans D, Fagot J, Hendrickx R, Jooris R, Langeraert W, Lavreys E, Lock K, Logghe G, Maes K, Mayon N, Moonen E, Mortelmans J, Muls D, Opdekamp W, Peeters K, Pieters R, Pollet M, Ravoet J, Rhebergen F, Schneider A, Schoonvaere K, Segers S, Septor R, Soors J, Speybroeck J, Steeman C, Steeman R, Thomaes A, Uitterhaegen B, van Doorn L, van der Schoot P, Van den Neucker T, van den Berg E, Van Sanden P, Van De Poel S, Van Steenwinkel C, Vanormelingen P, Vantieghem P, Veraghtert W, Verbelen D, Verbeylen G, Verhaeghe F, Verheyde F, Vermeiren H, Vertommen W, Zeegers T, Lambrechts J, Vanreusel W, Paquet J, Desmet P (2025). Waarnemingen.be / observations.be - List of species observed in Belgium. Version 1.3. Natuurpunt. Checklist dataset. https://doi.org/10.15468/a7wkuh

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Natuurpunt. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 2c38cf8a-f981-4dfb-bc9d-dd2b6fc792ed.  Natuurpunt publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Belgian Biodiversity Platform.

Keywords

Checklist; Inventoryregional; observations; checklist; citizen science; Natuurpunt; Natagora; biodiversity; Belgium; Flanders; Wallonia; Brussels Capital Region; alien species; native species; waarnemingen.be; observations.be; observation.org; TrIAS

Contacts

Geographic Coverage

This checklist covers all species in Belgium recorded via the citizen science platforms waarnemingen.be and observations.be. Per species, the first and last observation date is given for Belgium as a whole as well as for each of the three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels Capital Region). Observations recorded in the Belgian Part of North Sea are assigned to Flanders, so that the sum of the 3 regions equals the distributions in Belgium as a whole.

Taxonomic Coverage

This checklist covers all species in Belgium recorded via the citizen science platforms waarnemingen.be and observations.be. This includes 20,412 species from 6 kingdoms. Infraspecific taxa and fossil remains are not included.

Temporal Coverage

Project Data

Imagine a future where dynamically, from year to year, we can track the progression of alien species (AS), identify emerging species, assess their current and future risk and timely inform policy in a seamless data-driven workflow. One that is built on open science and open data infrastructures. By using international biodiversity standards and facilities, we would ensure interoperability, repeatability and sustainability. This would make the process adaptable to future requirements in an evolving IAS policy landscape both locally and internationally. The project Tracking Invasive Alien Species (TrIAS) aims to do this for Belgium. For a full project description, see Vanderhoeven et al. (2017, https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.3.e13414).

The personnel involved in the project:

Sampling Methods

Waarnemingen.be/observations.be is a citizen science platform allowing to register all species occurring in the wild, mainly focussing on plants, animals and fungi. It is mainly used as a notebook by naturalists to register and document their sightings and the majority of the observations are presence only records (Swinnen et al. 2022). A smaller proportion of the data (c. 10%) is part of a complete species list or transect count.

Method step description:

1. Species list and distribution extension was created in pgAdmin. This list was checked by species specialists which removed species which were previously approved, but currently under investigation and not yet changed in the portal. This resulted in a final species list and distribution extension.
2. Create a taxon core file (https://rs.gbif.org/core/dwc_taxon_2022-02-02.xml).
3. Create a distribution extension file (https://rs.gbif.org/extension/gbif/1.0/distribution_2022-02-02.xml).
4. The resulting Darwin Core data files are uploaded to the INBO IPT and documented with metadata.
5. The dataset is published and registered with GBIF.

Bibliographic Citations

1. Desmet P, Reyserhove L, Oldoni D, Groom Q, Adriaens T, Vanderhoeven S, Pagad S (2021). Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species - Belgium. Version 1.12. Invasive Species Specialist Group ISSG. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/xoidmd
2. Groom Q, Vanderhoeven S, Eggermont H, Coupremanne M, Adriaens T, Desmet P, Reyserhove L, Oldoni D, Strubbe D, Davis A, Lens L, Monty A, Mahy G, Jacquemart A-L, Verleye T, Van Hoey G, Van De Kerckhove R, Backeljau T, Dispas M, Sciensano, Vilain A, De Troch R, Van Schaeybroeck B, Termonia P (2022). TrIAS: Tracking Invasive Alien Species: Building a data driven framework to inform policy. Final Report. Brussels, Belgium. Belgian Science Policy Office (Belspo). http://www.belspo.be/belspo/brain-be/projects/FinalReports/TrIAS_FinRep.pdf
3. Swinnen K, Jacobs A, Claus K, Ruyts S, Vercayie D, Lambrechts J, Herremans M (2022). ‘Animals under wheels’: Wildlife roadkill data collection by citizen scientists as a part of their nature recording activities. Nature Conservation 47: 121-153 https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.47.72970
4. Swinnen K, Vercayie D, Vanreusel W, Barendse R, Boers K, Bogaert J, Dekeukeleire D, Driessens G, Dupriez P, Jooris R, Steeman R, Van Asten K, Van Den Neucker T, Van Dorsselaer P, Van Vooren P, Wysmantel N, Gielen K, Desmet P, Herremans M, all working groups, species validators and recorders Waarnemingen.be (2018) Waarnemingen.be – Non-native plant and animal occurrences in Flanders and the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium. BioInvasions Records 7(3): 335–342. https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2018.7.3.17
5. Vanderhoeven S, Adriaens T, Desmet P, Strubbe D, Backeljau T, Barbier Y, Brosens D, Cigar J, Coupremanne M, De Troch R, Eggermont H, Heughebaert A, Hostens K, Huybrechts P, Jacquemart A, Lens L, Monty A, Paquet J, Prévot C, Robertson T, Termonia P, Van De Kerchove R, Van Hoey G, Van Schaeybroeck B, Vercayie D, Verleye T, Welby S, Groom Q (2017) Tracking Invasive Alien Species (TrIAS): Building a data-driven framework to inform policy. Research Ideas and Outcomes 3: e13414. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.3.e13414

Additional Metadata