EMAN Data Management System

The Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network Coordinating Office is pleased to announce that the first phase of the EMAN Data Management System has been launched.  The EMAN Data Management System is an on-line tool for partners to enter, access, view, manage, search and share data related to the EMAN standardized ecosystem monitoring protocols. You can access the system at: http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/eman/index.cfm 

This new system will allow you to enter data on-line directly into a comprehensive database. It will enable the Coordinating Office and all of the EMAN partners, for the first time, to be able to access, integrate and analyze EMAN data from across Canada simply and effectively.  The system is being built modularly and is currently functioning for the following protocols:

  • the EMAN terrestrial vegetation biodiversity monitoring protocol
  • Tree Health
  • the Road Call Count
  • Backyard Survey

In the long term, the system will accommodate all of the EMAN Ecosystem Monitoring protocols (available from http://eman-rese.ca/eman/ecotools/protocols/terrestrial/)

There are many features of the EMAN data management system which makes participation attractive:

  • An interactive mapping feature allows you to quickly visualize all your trees in your plot
  • You can download your data from the system directly to a spreadsheet to conduct your own analyses at any time
  • The system has built in quality control features to minimize transcription errors and flag potential field errors. 
  • You can integrate your standardized data with data from other regions to enable broader assessments of ecosystem change across a landscape or watershed
  • Your data will be archived and stored permanently in a publicly accessible manner which increases the value of your research now and in the long term
  • You can choose to hold back your data on the system until you have had the opportunity to quality check your data or to publish the results
  • The system is backed up 24/7 – your data will never be lost
  • Your metadata will be captured by the Coordinating Office and shared with key metadata search engines.

The data in the EMAN Data Management System will be shared free of charge.  All intellectual property will remain with the contributor and data users must agree to acknowledge the appropriate data contributors as the source of the information.

We are working to incorporate historical data into the system. If you have historical terrestrial vegetation biodiversity monitoring datasets which you would like to integrate into the data management system, please send these to: marlene.doyle@ec.gc.ca. 

To use the system, you must create a user profile. Your user profile must be verified by clicking on the link sent to you by a computer generated email.  Once this is completed you can begin to enter, search and view data. Detailed instructions on using the system are available under “How to use the EMAN Data Management System”.

If you have questions or suggestions to improve the functionality of the system, please contact Marlene Doyle at marlene.doyle@ec.gc.ca or (905) 336-4418.