NDFF-NL

The "NDFF-EcoGRID Logisch Datamodel versie 3" is a logical data model for biodiversity observation data and related information in The Netherlands and potentially beyond. It has been developed in a broad collaboration between representatives of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the University of Amsterdam, and various data collecting organisations represented by Stichting Veldonderzoek Flora en Fauna. The data model describes species observations, ranging from observations by citizens and citizen scientists to organised survey campaigns run by professionals, as well as how to represent the reference material(e.g. standard lists of taxa and other domain values) needed to express their meaning accurately. Features of particular interest include 1) its suitability for modelling observation data on the full range of multicellular organisms, including animals, plants and fungi, in a single model, 2) its built-in facility for the representation of uncertainty in all aspects of the observation data, and 3) its ability to adequately deal with new developments in the reference data (such as the taxonomy). This version of the document is content-complete, but not yet definitive. We are in the process of designing an implementation, and expect some small adjustments to be made. The document itself will also likely be improved on details. However, we believe that it is already quite usable in its current form, and will be a useful contribution to the INSPIRE effort. a pdf-document is available.