Database Report

SOPHY -- basis of plant socio-ecology and phytoclimatology in France

Emmanuel Garbolino, Henry Brisse & Patrice De Ruffray

GIVD Database ID: EU-FR-003	Last update: 2024-02-19
SOPHY	Web address: http://sophy.univ-cezanne.fr/sophy.htm
Database manager(s): Emmanuel Garbolino (garbolino_emmanuel@yahoo.fr); Henry Brisse (henry.brisse@univ-cezanne.fr)
Owner: Henry BRISSE, Patrice de RUFFRAY, Emmanuel Garbolino et TELA-BOTANICA
Scope: Analysis of the environmental characteristics of flora and vegetation in France and characterization of bio-indicators
Abstract: This article draws attention to the botanical and ecological database SOPHY (GIVD ID EU-FR-003), which is hosted at the University Paul Cézanne at Marseille, France. Initiated in the 1970es, this database was first dedicated to the study of the relationships between plants and climate (phytoclimatology) at the scale of France. In the early 1980es it was central to the development of socio-ecology, which studies the statistical relationships between plant species. At present the SOPHY database contains more than 200,000 plots located in France and in some areas close to the French border. The managers of the database have developed methods and algorithms dedicated to the control of data quality and to the characterisation of socio-ecology and phytoclimatology. The principles and results obtained in these two domains using the SOPHY database are presented.
Availability: according to a specific agreement	Online upload: no	Online search: no
Database format(s): MySQL, other, format texte (MS-DOS)	Export format(s): plain text file, format texte (MS-DOS)
Plot type(s): normal plots	Plot-size range (m²): 1 to 400
Non-overlapping plots: 212244	Estimate of existing plots: 212244	Completeness: 100%	Status: ongoing capture
Total no. of plot observations: 212244	Number of sources (biblioreferences, data collectors): 4500	Valid taxa: 4598
Countries (%): FR: 79; ES: 5; CH: 1; IT: 1; BE: 14
Formations:
Guilds: all vascular plants: 100%; bryophytes (terricolous or aquatic): 1%; lichens (terricolous or aquatic): 1%
Plot size categories (%): unknowmn: ????%;
Environmental data (%): altitude: 80; other soil attributes: 0; soil pH: 0; soil depth: 0
Performance measure(s): cover: 100%
Geographic localisation: point coordinates less precise than GPS, up to 1 km: 70%; small grid (not coarser than 10 km): 20%; political units or only on a coarser scale ( above 10 km): 10%
Sampling periods: before 1920: 0.1%; 1920-1929: 0.7%; 1930-1939: 2.2%; 1940-1949: 1%; 1950-1959: 6%; 1960-1969: 12%; 1970-1979: 19%; 1980-1989: 23%; 1990-1999: 23%; 2000-2009: 10.5%; unknown: 0.5%
Information as of 2026-05-19; further details and future updates available from http://www.givd.info/ID/EU-FR-003

Emmanuel Garbolino* (garbolino_emmanuel@yahoo.fr)
ISIGE, MINES Paris PSL, 35, rue Saint Honoré, 77305 FONTAINEBLEAU, FRANCE
Henry Brisse (henry.brisse@univ-cezanne.fr)
36 av Henri Dunant Pas des Lancier, 13700 marignane, FRANCE
Patrice De Ruffray (Patrice.Deruffray@ibmp-ulp.u-strasbg.fr)
Institut de biologie moléculaire des plantes (IBMP), Université Louis Pasteur (ULP), 12, rue du général Zimmer, 67084 Strasbourg, cedex, FRANCE
* corresponding author