Pl@ntNet, a citizen science project

Pl@ntNet is a citizen science platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate the identification and inventory of plant species. It is one of the largest biodiversity observatories in the world, with several million contributors in more than 200 countries.

Pl@ntNet is based on a principle of cooperative learning. Users who have created an account can share their observations, which can then be reviewed by the community. This data is also used by the AI to improve plant recognition. For example, it is possible to confirm the name of a species or suggest another identification if one has botanical knowledge. Only observations that have reached a sufficient degree of confidence are then added to the public database and used to train the AI.

The tool is thus co-constructed by and for citizens. The most qualified users contribute their expert knowledge by contributing and reviewing observations, while less experienced users benefit from this knowledge through the use of the Pl@ntNet application.

Thanks to the participation of everyone, Pl@ntNet has collected more than one billion plant images (see the statistics)! However, only a small portion of this data is ultimately shared with researchers worldwide via open data portals on biodiversity, such as the GBIF or OpenObs of the INPN. A key element for this use is the presence of geolocation. Indeed, this information is crucial for mapping species. So don’t forget to share your geolocation if you want to fully contribute to the participatory science project.