Ecoinformatics is the science of information (Informatics) in Ecology and Environmental science. It aims to a synthesis of the sciences of the environment and of information that defines the entities and processes of natural systems with a language that both humans and computers can process.

A few definitions have been circulating, mostly centered on the creation of tools to access and analyze natural system data. However, the scope and aims of ecoinformatics can be thought of as more pervasive than the development and provision of tools for researchers and managers. Data about natural systems are heterogeneous, scattered and uncoordinated. Ecoinformatics aims to facilitate environmental research and management by developing ways to not only access, but also integrate databases of environmental information and computational services such as predictive models, analytical, and planning tools.

In order to achieve this goal, ecoinformatics needs to precisely characterize the semantics of natural system knowledge. For this reason, much of today's ecoinformatics research relates to the branch of computer science known as Knowledge_representation, and active ecoinformatics projects are developing links to activites such as the Semantic Web.

External links

• ecoinformatics.org -- Online Resource for Managing Ecological Data and Information

• Ecoinformatics Collaboratory -- Research links and public wiki for discussion.