A Multilingual/Multicultural Semantic-based Approach to Improve Data Sharing in an SDI for Nature Conservation

The paper proposes an approach to transcend multicultural and multilingual barriers in the use and reuse of geographical data at the European level. The approach aims at sharing scientific terms in the field of nature conservation with the goal of assisting different user communities with metadata compilation and information discovery. A multi-thesauri solution is proposed, based on a Common Thesaurus Framework for Nature Conservation, where different well-known Knowledge Organization Systems are assembled and shared. It has been designed according to semantic web and W3C recommendations employing SKOS standard models and Linked Data to publish the thesauri as a whole in machine-understandable format. The outcome is a powerful framework satisfying the requirements of modularity and openness for further thesaurus extension and updating, interlinking among thesauri, and exploitability from other systems. The paper supports the employment of Linked Data to deal with terminologies in complex domains such as nature conservation and it proposes a hands-on recipe to publish thesauri in the framework.