Integrated science for environmental decision-making: the challenge for biodiversity and ecosystem informatics

Information concerning biodiversity and ecosystems is critical to a wide range of scientific, educational, and government uses; however, much of this information is not easily accessible. This paper presents the core concepts underlying the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) , a Web-based system coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey that provides data and information on U.S. biological resources and, through a variety of partnerships, biological resources in many other nations. This paper will highlight NBII development, implementation, technological innovation, and successful user applications at two regional nodes: the NBII Southern Appalachian Information Node and the NBII Central Southwest/Gulf Coast Node.