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Observation Validation

Observation validation is a fundamental pillar of Pl@ntNet, ensuring the quality of shared data and its relevance for scientific research. This process combines human contributions and automated calculations to assess the reliability of each observation.

Votes

  1. User Votes Pl@ntNet users actively participate by voting on observations. Their contribution is weighted by their “weight”, reflecting their experience and reliability within the application.

  2. Partner Votes Partners, such as institutions or associated experts, have votes with a fixed weight.

  3. Calculation of Scores and Probabilities

  • Score of a value: This is the sum of the weights of the users who voted for a species.

  • Probability of a value: This is calculated by dividing the score of this value by the sum of the scores of all the values proposed for the observation.

Observation Validation Criteria

To be validated, an observation must meet several conditions:

  1. Valid Image

    • The image must not be marked as “not a plant”.
    • It must obtain a quality score of at least 2.

  2. Non-malformed Observation

    • It must not contain images of several distinct species (“malformed”).
    • The score of “malformed” votes must be less than 2.

  3. Correct Determination

    • The score of the determination must be at least 2.
    • The probability of the determination must be greater than or equal to 0.7.

  4. Absence of Censorship

    • The observation must not be censored by the identification engine.

  5. Other Criteria

    • The user who made the observation must not be blocked.
    • All required fields must be completed (for example, for partner observations).
    • Images must include identifiable organs (such as leaves, flowers or fruits).

Special Cases

An observation may be validated even if the identified species is not yet referenced in Pl@ntNet’s taxonomic databases. These observations will appear in the contribution feeds and user profiles, but will not appear in the image galleries. If the species is added later, the observation will be automatically linked to the corresponding gallery.

Importance of Image Quality

To maximize the chances of validation, it is essential to provide high-quality images:

  • Take several photos of the distinctive organs (leaves, flowers, fruits, etc.).

  • Make sure the images are sharp and well-framed.

  • Enable geolocation to enrich the observation with precise contextual data.

Impact of Validated Observations

Validated observations feed open databases like GBIF, contributing to research on biodiversity, ecology and computer science. They also contribute to the continuous improvement of Pl@ntNet’s artificial intelligence models, thus increasing the accuracy of future identifications.

This rigorous process ensures that the collected data is high-quality, reliable and usable for research, while encouraging collaboration between users.