Re-engineering an Old Plant Database: Developing a Web Interface Balancing Spatial and Aspatial Queries with New Technology

Abstract

Many ancient plant databases contain valuable legacy data that are crucial for environmental research and biodiversity studies. With advancements in technology, including database management systems, WebGIS mapping, and visualization, it is imperative to re-engineer these old plant databases to revitalize them. This study focuses on the Belize Savanna Plant Collection (BSPC) database as a case study. An evaluation of the existing web interfaces for querying this database revealed issues with outdated technology and the balance between spatial and taxonomic queries. Based on a re-check of user requirements and an analysis of various advanced IT technologies, the decision was made to utilize the Flask web framework and the Leaflet JavaScript library to develop a new web interface. This new interface is built upon a new database created by Sato in Oracle, based on the BSPC data, and balance spatial and taxonomic queries while facilitating comparison and interaction between web pages and maps. Although the new interface still faces challenges such as the inability to perform simultaneous spatial and taxonomic queries and the absence of Sato's previously implemented fuzzy queries, it significantly contributes to the revitalization of the Belize plant database.