GBIF Data Help Map Plants in Australia

29 August 2011: The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) partner Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is collaborating with the Customary Medicinal Knowledgebase (CMKb) based at Macquarie University, to integrate medicinal knowledge with other information on Australian biodiversity.

As part of this cooperation, the two institutions will: set up a “mirror site” of the CMKb at the ALA, integrate the public domain data from CMKb; and develop a web interface for displaying CMKb data on ALA.

A recently published Macquarie University study, combining traditional knowledge with ecological niche modelling technologies, shows a map of potential “bio-cultural diversity hotspots,” areas suitable for the occurrence of multiple species known to be used in traditional medicine. The research made use of GBIF data portal for obtaining information about the distribution of 414 plant species. [GBIF News]