NOAA Paleoclimatology Program

Latin American Pollen Database

Report on the Paleovegetation of the Americas (POA) Workshop for the Development of a Latin American Pollen Database (LAPD)
Springfield, Illinois, November 16 to 19, 1994
Coordinated by Eric Grimm, Illinois State Museum, John Keltner, NOAA/NGDC, and Vera Markgraf, University of Colorado
Assisted by Lysanna Anderson and Pietra Muller
Sponsored by the Paleoclimatology Program of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Twenty scientists from Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, and North America representing groups of major palynological research activity in Latin America attended the workshop at the Illinois State Museum, the center for the development of the Paleovegetation Database for the Americas (POA). The goals of the workshop were:
1. To discuss the development of databases in the context of Global Change research initiatives, especially PAGES (Past Global Change core project of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program (IGBP);
2. To present an overview of existing and developing pollen databases in Europe, North America, Australia/New Zealand, and Behringia;
3. To explain the fundamentals of relational databases;
4. To train the participants in the use of TILIA, TILIA-GRAPH, FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and MOSAIC. TILIA and TILIA-GRAPH are software tools for storing, analyzing, and presenting pollen data. FTP and MOSAIC are software tools for communication and data exchange on the Internet; and
5. To discuss the implications of regional databases, data ceters, and data cooperatives in the context of Latin America..
Some terms and their definitions:
Database: a collection of information, stored on computer and organized in relational tables using database management software (e.g. Oracle, Paradox, etc.).
Data Center: a facility in which validated data sets are collected, maintained, and distributed. Distribution occurs electronically via the Internet, or on magnetic media. Examples: National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)/World Data Center A for Paleoclimatology (Boulder Colorado), European Pollen Data Base (EPD), Alpine Palynological Data-Base (ALPADABA), etc.
Data Cooperative: a regional group of scientists that collects raw data, validates it, and sets taxonomic and chronology standards for the data. The cooperative provides the scientific control for the data they collect. The validated data are organized into a relational database and distributed publicly by a Data Center. Example: North American Pollen Database (NAPD).
The coordinators and advisory boards of the European and North American Pollen Databases spent considerable time and effort to create a comprehensive database structure and computer software for data entry and retrieval. It, therefore, seems most sensible for other database efforts to build on this well-tested foundation. All attending agreed that it would be advantageous to use the existing structure for the Latin American Pollen Database.
The discussion focused on how to most efficiently initiate the interaction among all researchers involved in palynological research in Latin America. To this end the following steps were proposed:
1. Regional representatives for Mexico (Socorro Lozano-Garcia), for Brazil sensu lato (P. Oliveira, H. Behling, M.-P. Ledru, E. Moreno), for Colombia (H. Hooghiemstra, G. van Reenen, H. Witte) and for the "Cono Sur" (C. Villagran, P. Moreno, F. Schäbitz) would coordinate meetings in 1995 to demonstrate the use of pollen databases to all regional palynologists interested to cooperate. (Both Eric Grimm and Vera Markgraf received limited 2-year funding from NOAA to assist the pollen community in all aspects related to the development of the Latin American Pollen Database and are willing to help as necessary with these regional meetings). Other palynologists (e.g. K. Graf, B. Hansen, S. Horn, B. Leyden, etc.) would either submit their data directly to the database coordinators or work with the regional representatives, as appropriate.
2. An electronic mail network (LISTSERV) would be installed to exchange news and information. Those presently without Internet access would receive the information by fax or mail. Regional representatives attending the meeting proposed to submit electronic mail addresses of other researchers working in the region.
3. Software needed to enter pollen and associated data (TILIA/TILIA FORMS) would be provided free of charge to all participants. Also distributed were SITESEER and SHOWTIME, software illustrating the content and capabilities of the databases.
4. An inventory of pollen records available for timely inclusion into the database would be compiled. This list would be distributed promptly via Internet, including a map showing the location.
5. As a reward, contributors of pollen records would be presented with a T-shirt displaying the Latin American Pollen Database logo.
Vera Markgraf, Eric Grimm, J. Keltner - Boulder, November 26, 1994
Participants at the Springfield Workshop
L. Anderson, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA (andersol@spot.colorado.edu)

H. Behling, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948, USA (strem103@sivm.si.edu)

K. Graf, Geographisches Institut der Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstr. 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland (kgraf@gis.geogr.unizh.ch)

E. Grimm, Illinois State Museum, Research and Collections Center, 1011 East Ash Street, Springfield, Il 62703, USA (grimm@museum.state.il.us)

B. Hansen, Limnological Research Center, University of Minnesota, 220 Pillsbury Hall, Minneapolis, Mn 55455-0219, USA (hanse057@maroon.tc.umn.edu)

H. Hooghiemstra, Hugo de Vries Laboratory, Dep. of Palynology and Actuo-Ecology, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 318, NL-1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands (hooghiemstra@sara.nl)

J. Keltner, NOAA/NGDC/PALEO, 325 Broadway E/GCx3, Boulder, Co 80303, USA (john.keltner@noaa.gov)

L. Kennedy, Dep. Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tn 37996-1420, USA (lkennedy@utkux1.utk.edu) for S. Horn (shorn@utkux1.utk.edu)

M.-P. Ledru, ORSTOM, 72 Route d'Aulnay, F-93143 Bondy-Cedex, France (ledru@bondy.orstom.fr)

B. Leyden, Dep. Geology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Av. SCA 203, Tampa, Fl 33620- 5200, USA (leyden@chuma.cas.usf.edu)

S. Lozano-Garcia, Instituto de Geología, Universidad Ancional Antónoma de México, Aptdo Postal 70-296, 04510 Mexico D.F., Mexico (mslozano@unamvm1.dgsca.unam.mx)

V. Markgraf, Institute of Arctic and Alpine research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Co 80309-0450, USA (markgraf@spot.colorado.edu)

E. Moreno, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948, USA (strem103@sivm.si.edu)

P. Moreno, Dep. Plant Biology, University of Maine, Deering Hall, Orono, Me 04469, USA (pmoren41@maine.maine.edu)

P. Mueller, Illinois State Museum, Research and Collections Center, 1011 East Ash Street, Springfield, Il 62703, USA

P. E. de Oliveira, Dep. Geology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Il 60605-2496, USA (deolive@fmnh785.fmnh.org)

F. Schäbitz (Geographisches Institut der Universität Bamberg, Am Kranen 1, D-96045 Bamberg, Germany

G. van Reenen, Hugo de Vries Laboratory, Dep. of Palynology and Actuo-Ecology, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 318, NL-1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands (guido@sara.nl)

C. Villagrán, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 653, Santiago, Chile (dendro@abello.seci.uchile.cl)

H. Witte, Hugo de Vries Laboratory, Dep. of Palynology and Actuo-Ecology, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 318, NL-1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands (a433henk@sara.nl)

27 June 1997