GBIF occurrence data (GBIF)
2.5 billion biodiversity observations globally — but the license varies by record. CC0 and CC-BY records are fine for any use; CC-BY-NC records are not. Filter before you build.
What this is
GBIF aggregates occurrence records from institutions, researchers, and citizen scientists. Over 2.5 billion records, accessible via REST API (no key required) and AWS bulk download. License is per-dataset: CC0, CC-BY, or CC-BY-NC depending on the contributor. More than 50% of records are CC0.
Why we surface it
Field-edge ecology — pollinator presence, pest pressure, invasive species — is increasingly relevant ag context. GBIF is the open record for it. License caveat: the API exposes the license field per record. For commercial or AI-training use, filter out CC-BY-NC records before use — the dataset as a whole is not safe for commercial applications without that filter.
What you can do with it
Shown for commercial use. Personal, research, and nonprofit use is often more permissive — switch the verdict lens on the catalog.
- Internal / individual use
- Custom or restrictive terms — we can't auto-decode this one. Read the source agreement before using, especially for commercial use, AI training, and redistribution. When in doubt, ask the provider.
- Redistribute the data
- Custom or restrictive terms — we can't auto-decode this one. Read the source agreement before using, especially for commercial use, AI training, and redistribution. When in doubt, ask the provider.
- Republish a derivative
- Custom or restrictive terms — we can't auto-decode this one. Read the source agreement before using, especially for commercial use, AI training, and redistribution. When in doubt, ask the provider.
- Build into a private product
- Custom or restrictive terms — we can't auto-decode this one. Read the source agreement before using, especially for commercial use, AI training, and redistribution. When in doubt, ask the provider.
This decoder is a starting point, not legal advice. For commercial deployment, run the actual license terms past someone who reads them for a living.
Parked
Per-dataset license mix (CC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-NC): the CC-BY-NC slice cannot be used commercially or for AI training without filtering on the API license field. Parked until the filter-on-use pattern is implemented; surfaced with the caveat loud.