International Organization for Plant Information

A Taxonomic Information Model for Botanical Databases. Draft version 7.3


Compiled by W. Berendsohn, Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, for the IOPI Information System Committee (List of members).

Please note: With the exemption of chapters 7 (reference citations) and 10 (geographic distribution), this draft has been superceded by a published version (Taxon 46:283-309) .


Contents

Introduction

Data models; Scope of the Model; History of the model; CASE techniques in data modeling and system development

Glossary of Terms and Concepts

A brief explanation of terms and graphical elements used in the model

1. Potential taxa

Linking information to plant names; Entity-Relation model of potential taxa; Integrity rules for potential taxon definitions

2. Botanical names

Data elements in botanical names; Realization of botanical names in the data model; Name rank; Name structure; Binomials and trinomials; Microspecies, Aggregates, „sensu lato"; Cultivars; Hybrids and hybrid formulas; Unnamed taxa; Entity relation model of botanical names; Specific integrity rules for plant names; Taxonomic reference citations

3. Referenced status assignations: From name to potential taxon and synonym

System status; Nomenclatural status; Basionomy; Homonyms; Synonyms; Specific integrity rules related to the system status

4. Classification

Alternative taxonomies; Systematic sequence; Entity Relation model of the classification of potential taxa; Specific integrity rules for classifications

5. The "preferred taxon view"

Shielding users from taxonomy and nomenclature

6. Persons and person teams

Integrity rules

7. Reference citations

Non-standard features of taxonomic source references; Entity Relation model of reference citations

8. Comments

Structuring unstructured information

9. Indirectly linked plant information

Basic design criteria; Linking information to taxa

10. Geographic distribution in the IOPI Checklist

Scope of the model; Attachment to potential taxa; The data structure; Summary range phrase; Area occurrence data; The entity relation model for geographic distributions in the IOPI checklist

11. Alphabetical list of entities with attributes and data elements

The data dictionary, after all

References

Literature cited


Next chapter; Contents of this article; Complete entity list; References cited; Author information. Last updated: June 23, 1995; supplemented Nov. 1997.