BioMon Database Software

Download BioMon
(6.1 MB, zip)
BioMon Documentation

One of MAB's primary objectives has been to define standardized protocols for data management, analysis, and interpretation within an international network of biodiversity monitoring plots. To facilitate this work in conjunction with the establishment and maintenance of long-term biodiversity monitoring plots, MAB developed and implemented BioMon, the Biodiversity Monitoring Database.

MAB created BioMon as a framework for managing data, standardizing data analysis and presentations, and assisting with the exchange and publication of the results. BioMon helps researchers immediately organize and verify data in the field. It contains a series of checks to ensure that all of the data required for analysis are entered, guaranteeing data integrity. BioMon also makes it simple to obtain a summary of the floristic structure and composition of the monitoring plot as soon as data are entered. Finally, BioMon prints maps of the location of trees in the monitoring plots for on-the-ground verification.

BioMon presents analysis and documentation of data in a standardized format. Calculations that are often time consuming and laborious are performed accurately in a matter of seconds. BioMon frees users from worrying over database design or calculation errors. Instead, researchers can concentrate on the quality of the data collected and on interpretations of summarized information.

BioMon has been widely distributed throughout an international network of nearly 300 biodiversity monitoring sites. MAB conducts training sessions to teach others how to use its protocols and software. Using BioMon within the international network of monitoring plots has proven valuable on a number of fronts. It has stimulated communication and data sharing and has been the motivation for improving other methodologies. For example, at many sites where new biodiversity monitoring protocols are being tested, the common denominator is establishment of one hectare plots to provide baseline data, following the standardized protocols developed by MAB and made more efficient through BioMon.

BioMon products

Too often in the scientific community, data are not available to a wider audience until they are published in peer-reviewed journals, a slow process that may span two years or more. MAB has attempted to resolve this difficulty through the publication of a user guide for each biodiversity monitoring plot, making preliminary findings from the plots available to interested parties in a timely fashion. BioMon has contributed immensely to achieving this goal. The guides, which form the baseline information needed by other researchers at the plots, contain the following:

  • Research objectives, findings and data collected at the plots.
  • Methodologies used.
  • Data dictionaries that summarize data management procedures used.
  • Outline of the floristic structure and composition of the different forest types monitored. Maps and measurements of all the trees within the plots are included.
  • Micro-herbarium composed of high-resolution photocopies of specimens collected at the plots.

Improving BioMon

BioMon was created in a DOS platform. The success of the program and the need to incorporate a wide array of new analytical and reporting techniques prompted revisions. The new version of BioMon, currently being developed in cooperation with the College of Geographic Sciences in Canada, will operate under Microsoft Windows to better accommodate requests by current users.

One of the new features is an expanded suite of analysis capabilities, including biodiversity indices. BioMon for Windows will also facilitate the process of preparing user guides for monitoring plots. Memo fields within the database will allow researchers to enter text descriptions of the sites as well as preliminary findings. A full report option will enable the users to print user guides based on the information entered in the memo fields. Ultimately, the new BioMon for Windows will provide users with an analytical data management tool that will ensure the standardization of biodiversity monitoring, enabling the exchange and comparison of information.

Over the long term, MAB plans to expand BioMon to include data management of taxonomic groups other than vegetation. The goal is to have a network of plots where multi-taxa monitoring is carried out under consistent protocols. As protocols for monitoring additional taxa are implemented, they will be standardized and gradually incorporated into new versions of BioMon, thus providing the necessary tools for analyzing and sharing long-term data. In addition, new versions of BioMon will facilitate the comparison of information from a diverse network of sites, enabling the evaluation of large-scale changes in global biodiversity.

BioMon systems requirements

  • Windows 95 /98 or Windows NT
  • 16 megabytes RAM
  • 5 megabytes of disk space with additional space required for data
  • 640 x 480 monitor

Download BioMon (6.1 MB, zip)
BioMon Documentation

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