Otobur™: A botanic garden data management system

Abstract

The main roles of botanic gardens are to undertake research, share information, and conserve plant biodiversity. Conservation can not only be thought of in terms of genetic resources, but also scientific knowledge and information about the plants. There are different methods of recording data about living material in botanic gardens, ranging from the simple recording of information in handwritten books, to the use of sophisticated computer software programmes. In the case of electronically recorded information this can involve, complex construction of query sentences, that a majority of botanic garden staff are unable to write as they are not computer programmers, nor do they usually have any expertise of computer systems. Although there are a few computer programs used to store information about plants in botanic gardens, Otobur™, is straight forward and easy to use with innovative features. Developed by us at the Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi, it runs on a platform-independent online system and has an improved dashboard for real-time statistics as well as multi-language support. Its ‘just click’ query builder can readily create a detailed report and it can also send information by email to users. Example features include an estimated flowering calendar. Otobur™ is an easy-to-use, open-source web application offering opportunities for adding other optional features.