Contribute Data to AKVEG #

Last updated on 2026-10-13

The AKVEG Project is funded primarily through extramural grants. As a result, we are only able to process a limited number of datasets that are not tied to pre-existing grant deliverables. Please contact the AKVEG Data Manager, Amanda Droghini, if you have a dataset that you would like to contribute to AKVEG.

Formatting Data #

To make the most of our resources, we encourage data contributors to align their data to the AKVEG schema before sending them to us for final processing.

To ensure your data meets the AKVEG requirements:

1. Download the data entry template files. The ZIP folder contains 13 Excel files, one for each data table in AKVEG, whose column names match the names used when inserting data into the database.
2. Enter unconstrained data into templates, following the formats specified in the database_schema table of the database.
3. Ignore tables for which data do not exist.
4. Email formatted data to us. We will check the data against the database’s constraints tables and work with you to modify field values to match constraints, or update the constraints tables (e.g., add personnel names).
5. Once we have resolved all issues, we will push the data into the AKVEG Database.

Helpful Resources #

• AKVEG Database GitHub repository: The 02_data_format folder contains utility functions (utils/) and processing scripts (initial_processing/) for datasets already entered in AKVEG; they can serve as examples to help you format your dataset.
• database_schema: Table in the AKVEG Database that lists the data types, field descriptions, foreign key constraints, and missing value codes for all tables in the database.
• database_dictionary: Table in the AKVEG Database that includes the controlled vocabulary and definitions for all constrained categorical values.
• Minimum Standards for Field Observations: This document, which is included in the AKVEG Database archive, was used as the basis for the AKVEG Database schema, and includes descriptions of the data tables and their fields. Although the schema has changed since the document was written, the document still includes valuable information in a human-readable format.