Dr Culham said: “GBIF provides a fantastic resource that may prove vital in understanding the impacts of global climate change at this critical time. However, the large gaps in data that exist in the GBIF network are a clarion call for the governments of the world's developed nations to invest more money to support institutions and scientists around the world in their quest to digitise, publish and upload more of the data presently hidden in museums.

We put particular emphasis on the quality of location information stored with each specimen record, and the breadth of coverage for known species. In our research we found that over 500 000 records for Legumes are available within the GBIF 'super database'. “

Mr Yesson said: “Although this seems at first glance to be a large dataset, our research revealed major gaps in the coverage of this data. Many Legume species, around 70%, have never been formally recorded in digital collections, or have too few good quality records to be useful. Also, many of the specimen records that are available online have issues that make the location information associated with these records unusable for many purposes. In many cases the most biologically diverse regions of the world have little or no data available online.

A focussed effort on these areas will create a truly global resource that creates unparalleled opportunities for understanding the world's biodiversity."

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The following press release refers to an upcoming article in PLoS ONE. The release has been provided by the article authors and/or their institutions. Any opinions expressed in this are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.

More information about GBIF can be found here: http://www.gbif.org/

Contact:
Alastair Culham (corresponding author)
University of Reading
Email: a.culham@reading.ac.uk

Citation: Yesson C, Brewer PW, Sutton T, Caithness N, Pahwa JS, et al (2007) How Global Is the Global Biodiversity Information Facility" PLoS ONE 2(11): e1124. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001124

PLEASE ADD THE LINK TO THE PUBLISHED ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT: http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0001124