Plant Biodiversity Explorer

Discover the plants that shape where you live: learn, explore, and connect with local biodiversity with this plant explorer dashboard.

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Inspiration

I don't have a green thumb - I suck at taking care of my own plants. What I do love though, is observing all the plants and trees around me, and appreciating what nature has to offer. However, I'm not the best at identifying the plants - which is why I made this data app. I wanted to create an interactive way for other curious people to explore the plant biodiversity around them.

What it does

The app visualizes real-world plant observation data from iNaturalist. Users can:

  • Discover which species are common in their area.
  • Explore taxonomic relationships through a “tree of life” view.
  • See seasonal “bloom wheels” showing when species are most visible.
  • Understand what characteristics to look for when identifying a plant.

How I built it

I used Plotly Studio to create this app. I uploaded my data and prompted Plotly studio to come up with charts. I also tweaked the python code for a few of the charts to change colors, filters and aggregations.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge was handling large data - the plant species data I had included media such as photos. However, I wanted to emphasize on clean charts that provided a cohesive story rather than work with the entirety of the data. This is why, the app focuses on a few features, and only the US as a geographic area.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Translating ecological complexity into interactive, storytelling visuals.
  • Building a cohesive design where charts complement each other.
  • Making biodiversity data accessible and fun to explore for anyone.

What we learned

I learned how to leverage Plotly studio for narrative-style data visualizations. Using plotly studio allowed me to think of the importance of thoughtful UI and filtering in data storytelling.

What's next for Plant Biodiversity Explorer

I definitely want to expand beyond the US region. I also want to add image previews as data card components for each species. In order to have the most up-to-date data I would also integrate real-time iNaturalist API to fetch the latest observations.

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