{
  "abstract": "Accurate taxonomy, including species identification and naming, underpins ecological inference, yet taxonomic information in ecological datasets is often inconsistently recorded or weakly standardized. With the increasing integration of ecological datasets across taxa and regions, datasets with poor taxonomic practices can hinder data exchange and propagate errors. We propose 10 rules to improve the storage and management of taxonomic information in ecological datasets. These rules draw on our experiences in plant ecology and taxonomy, but the conclusions may be generalized to other organisms and disciplines. They emphasize aspects from species identification to the permanent storage of verifiable records (e.g. voucher specimens) and include taxonomic standardization, nomenclature, validation, and updating. We also address the treatment of morphotypes and incomplete identifications, the use of automated name‐matching tools, and (meta)data standards. Closer collaboration between ecologists and taxonomists is key to ensuring more robust datasets. The application of these rules consumes more time and resources, but they enhance data quality and interoperability, saving time during data integration and improving the reliability and scalability of ecological research.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz” Universidade de São Paulo Avenida Pádua Dias, 11 13418‐900 Piracicaba Brazil",
    "Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Recursos Florestais, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz” Universidade de São Paulo Avenida Pádua Dias, 11 13418‐900 Piracicaba Brazil",
    "Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Richmond TW9 3AB Surrey UK",
    "Naturalis Biodiversity Center 2333 CR Leiden the Netherlands",
    "Quantitative Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology Utrecht University 3584 CH Utrecht the Netherlands",
    "Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi Università di Torino 10123 Turin Italy",
    "School of GeoSciences University of Edinburgh EH8 9XP Edinburgh UK",
    "Taxonomy and Macroecology, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh EH3 5LR Edinburgh UK",
    "School of Geography University of Leeds LS2 9JT Leeds UK",
    "Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro Rua Pacheco Leão, 915 22460‐030 Rio de Janeiro Brazil",
    "Centre de Recherche Biodiversité Environnement UMR 5300 (CNRS/IRD/UPS/INPT) 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9 France",
    "Cirad, UPR Forêts et Sociétés University of Montpellier 34398 Montpellier France",
    "Department of Forestry University of Brasilia Campus Darcy Ribeiro 70910‐900 Brasília Brazil",
    "School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol BS8 1TQ Bristol UK",
    "Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia Universidade Federal do Pará 66075‐110 Belém Brazil",
    "International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service 00926‐1119 Río Piedras Puerto Rico",
    "Departamento de Botánica Universidad de Concepción 4070386 Concepción Chile",
    "Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB) 7800024 Santiago Chile",
    "Department of Biology, ESCET Universidad Rey Juan Carlos 28933 Madrid Spain",
    "Fundación Ecosistemas Secos de Colombia 081001 Puerto Colombia Colombia",
    "Instituto de Ecología Regional Universidad Nacional de Tucumán – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) Casilla de Correo 34 4107 Tucumán Argentina",
    "Environmental Change Institute University of Oxford OX1 3QY Oxford UK",
    "Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango 34120 Durango Mexico",
    "Departamento de Ciências Naturais Universidade Regional de Blumenau 89030‐903 Blumenau Brazil",
    "Department of Biology Washington University St Louis MO 63130 USA",
    "Missouri Botanical Garden St Louis MO 63130 USA",
    "Geography Department, College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Exeter EX4 4QE Exeter UK"
  ],
  "article_type": "article commentary",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 19,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Renato A. Ferreira de Lima",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1048-0138"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Guilherme S. Grittz",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6500-4422"
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    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Moabe F. Fernandes",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2819-5730"
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    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Hans ter Steege",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8738-2659"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Kyle G. Dexter",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9232-5221"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Oliver Phillips",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8993-6168"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Marli P. Morim",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0872-8429"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10
      ],
      "name": "Jérôme Chave",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7766-1347"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Géraldine Derroire",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7239-2881"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        13,
        14
      ],
      "name": "Filipe M. França",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3827-1917"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        15
      ],
      "name": "Tamara Heartsill‐Scalley",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0550-4147"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        16,
        17
      ],
      "name": "Ricardo A. Segovia",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8787-619X"
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    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Caroline E. R. Lehmann",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6825-124X"
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    {
      "affs": [
        18
      ],
      "name": "Luis Cayuela",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3562-2662"
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    {
      "affs": [
        19
      ],
      "name": "Karina Banda",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5789-0110"
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    {
      "affs": [
        20
      ],
      "name": "Cecilia Blundo",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0227-7316"
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    {
      "affs": [
        21,
        22
      ],
      "name": "Jesús Aguirre‐Gutiérrez",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9190-3229"
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    {
      "affs": [
        23
      ],
      "name": "André L. de Gasper",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1940-9581"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        24,
        25,
        26
      ],
      "name": "R. Toby Pennington",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8196-288X"
    }
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  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/74rjjwswa5mvn.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1111/nph.71658",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13738678/",
  "id": "74rjjwswa5mvn",
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  "language": "en",
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  "native_subjects": [
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      "1710|Research Data Management Practices"
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  "pdf_url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/nph.71658",
  "pmcid": "PMC13738678",
  "pmid": "42864595",
  "published": "2026-10-12",
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  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/74rjjwswa5mvn.ris",
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:1110|Plant Molecular Biology Research",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
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  ],
  "title": "Ten rules for robust taxonomy in ecological datasets",
  "title_text": "Ten rules for robust taxonomy in ecological datasets",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:23:38Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/74rjjwswa5mvn",
  "venue": "The New Phytologist",
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}