Introducing Australia’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network: linking disciplines for better environmental outcomes.

Nikki Thurgate

TERN:• Infrastructure and networks to support a coordinated and

collaborative ecosystem science community• Enabling sustained, long-term collection, storage, synthesis and

sharing of ecosystem data• Connecting science with policy and management

TERN: Transforming Australian ecosystem science

How TERN fits together

Data framework

• All funded and included data MUST be openly available

• Includes code, models etc. • AEKOS fully semantic searching supported by

ontological model• Structured metadata approach (Australian

and global standards)• Difficulty with older data but valuable

Data approach

• Includes ‘big data’ from e.g flux and remote sensing communities

Challenges• Provenance• Integration• Cultural change • Competition• Interoperability

Challenges

Lindenmayer and Likens, Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 2012Benchmarking Open Access Science Against Good Science. ‘…..we open the door to a generation of “junk science”….‘…issues of an emerging generation of what we call “parasitic” science….’

Building a true network

• Coalition of the willing• Stakeholders are part of the process• Build relationships• Build trust• Common goals and questions• Flexibility

Licensing approach

• Least restrictive approach must be used• Allows for sensitivities• Attribution mandated• Creative commons Australia 3.0• Encourages interactions between data users

and owners

International challenges

• DataONE e.g uses CC v 0.0• Does not protect anyone outside USA• We can create DOI’s that are unique to each

data set extracted but can create massive attributions (exponential increase with international interoperability)

• Need to build safe environment to encourage partnerships with scientists

• Protection of intellectual property rights

International challenges

• Semantics!• Resources for international approaches• Bottom-up vs top-down• Sensitive data • Legal entities• Duplication vs Innovation

BUT BENEFITS OUTWAY CHALLENGES

Connecting with TERN

www.tern.org.au

Nikki.Thurgate@adelaide.edu.au