ABSTRACT
A concept-based taxonomic information system thus unites the taxonomic research process with reliable name-based user access to biodiversity information. Users demand a Web-based unitary taxonomy to get reliable access to species information. AlgaTerra involves cooperation among seven partners in Germany and links diverse information from molecular investigations, herbarium specimens and cultured strains via a common taxonomic core on micro-algae. The remote taxonomic editor was implemented using the ColdFusion application server and Java. In the 1990s, information models laid the theoretical base for handling taxonomic concepts — names used in the sense of a certain circumscription. Many doubt that there is a need for the representation of concepts in taxonomic databases. The IOPI database provides access to legacy data sets as well as checklist access to the taxonomic treatments published in the species Plantarum series. In the former case, matters are greatly simplified because the content can be directly linked to a concept in the taxonomic core.
