The merits and demerits of a database: The case of the forest dynamics database (FDDB)

The Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute have developed and opened the Forest Dynamics Database (FDDB) on a website ihttp://fddb.ffpriiU5. afrrc. go.jp/index.html), which contains tree census data and various types of long-term measurements. These data sets had been obtained from long-term ecological research sites. FDDB consists of data for adult trees, saplings, seedlings, seed, litter, etc. measured at eight sites from Hokkaido to Kyushu Island including Yakushima Island, Japan. Open data, for example the position of each tree and frequency distribution of stem diameter, can be visualized on the website. A part of data can be downloading freely. This paper mentions the motivitation and background for the development of FDDB. We discuss the merits and demerits of FDDB and the future direction of open data. Various types of data obtained from forests, which are stored in institutes and universities, are public wealth. To open forest data across our nations and to contribute the development of forest science, we should endeavor to standardize, integrate and open the forest data as a common property.