Dr. Sabine von Mering
(Deputy) Head of Department
Research group
Data for Nature
Data science methods for unlocking, networking, and analyzing natural history collections
Research
Natural history collections preserve unique knowledge about the Earth's biological and geological diversity, as well as about the research conducted into it. We make this knowledge digitally accessible, interoperable and usable for research and society.
Within the Data for Nature research group, we develop and apply innovative data science methods to extract information from collection objects (specimens), digitised materials and historical sources. We link this data to additional sources of knowledge and make it openly available in accordance with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable).
Our focus extends beyond data availability to data contextualization: by connecting objects, people, places, events, and scientific concepts, we create new pathways to understanding natural history knowledge and its history.
Working closely with the museum's subcollections, science programmes and infrastructure units, we integrate data, expertise, and digital methods into interconnected knowledge spaces. Through the museum's Digital Catalogue and Data Portal, as well as international data platforms such as GBIF and Wikidata, we make biodiversity and collection data accessible worldwide. Together with internal and external partners, we are thereby laying the foundation for a global knowledge graph of nature and its study.
Our work is guided by the principles of Open Science. We promote transparency, reusability, and the open accessibility of scientific data. In doing so, we contribute to an interconnected research landscape and open up new perspectives on biodiversity, natural history collections, and the history of science.
Key questions
- How can natural history collection objects be digitally documented and curated to comprehensively link knowledge?
- How can AI-supported methods advance the cataloguing, analysis, and research of natural history collections?
- How can distributed and heterogeneous collection data be sustainably documented, linked, and made accessible for interdisciplinary research?
- How can abstract collection data be meaningfully visualised to raise awareness of biodiversity among diverse stakeholder groups?
Lead
Publikationen (Auswahl)
Parolini, G., Von Mering, S., Petersen, M. (2023). Classifying Colonial Objects in Museum Collections with Machine Learning and Historical Knowledge. In Formel, S., Benson, A., Biddle, M., van der Stap, T., Newman, P. (Hrsg.), BISS - SYM04 The CARE principles: Learning and growing as a data management community (Bd. 7, e110872). Pensoft Publishers. Tasmania. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.7.110872
von Mering, S. (2025). Published type catalogues / catalogues of type specimens (Version 1.0) [CSV]. Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.15338503
Von Mering, S., Kaiser, K. (2024). Making connections. Open data for transdisciplinary Provenance Research on Collections from Colonial Contexts. In Schmidt-Loske, K., Tschan, G.F., Xylander, W., Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz (Hrsg.), Space, time, plants and paper: botanical exploration from colonial origins to global heritage (75-84). Frankfurt am Main: Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung. URL: https://www.schweizerbart.de/publications/detail/isbn/9783510614288/Senckenberg_Monographs_Vol_1_noch_ni
Von Mering, S., Stolze, E. (2023). Collection agents affiliated with the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Version 1.0) [CSV]. Museum für Naturkunde Berlin - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.10425159
Von Mering, S., Stolze, E., Kaiser, K., Petersen, M. (2024). Sharing data, caring for collections. Open data on collection agents affiliated with the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. Research Ideas and Outcomes, 10, e118851. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.10.e118851
Von Mering, S., Braun, P., Cubey, R., Groom, Q., Haston, E., Hendriksen, A., Johaadien, R., Leachman, S., Marsden, L., Rainer, H., Santos, J., Endresen, D. (2023). Modelling Research Expeditions in Wikidata: Best Practice for Standardisation and Contextualisation. BISS - CO Contributed oral presentations, 7, e111427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.7.111427
Von Mering, S., Cubey, R., Endresen, D., Hendriksen, A., Leachman, S., Mietchen, D., Santos, J. (2024). Advancing Community Curation of Research Expeditions: A Collaborative Journey with Wikidata and Biodiversity Information Standards. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards, 8, e138921. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.8.138921
von Mering, S., Knapp, S., Leachman, S., Lindon, H., Gu, Q., Vincent, S., Ulloa, C. (2025). The women honoured in flowering plant genera: From myth to reality. Plants People Planet, 2025, 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70050
von Mering, S., Leachman, S., Santos, J., Meudt, H. (2025). Wikidata for Botanists: Benefits of collaborating and sharing Linked Open Data. Annals of Botany. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaf062
Buttliere, B., Vetter, M., Pensa, I., Mietchen, D., Rasberry, L., Mkrtchyan, S., von Mering, S., Ivo, K., Jermen, N., Penev, L., Penev, L., Demartini, G., János, T., BIANCHINI, C., BIANCHINI, C., Morriello, R., Ploszaj, A., Jemielniak, D., Makowska, K., Serbanuta, C., Polajnar, J., Kaltenbrunner, A. (2025). WikiSci: Making Expert Knowledge Public Using the Wikipedia Ecosystem. (26) [Action Proposal]. Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.15639418
Campos Castello Branco, R., von Mering, S. (2025). Entities linked to the Amazon film expeditions led by Adolf Freiherr von Dungern (Version 1.0) [CSV]. Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.17451139
Hardy, H., French, L., Humphries, J., Von Mering, S., Giere, P., Berger, F., Koivunen, A., Grieb, J., Vipp, M., Smith, V. (2023). [Report]: Distributed Team Working - Approaches for DiSSCo. Research Ideas and Outcomes, 9, e115454. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.9.e115454
Leachman, S., Meudt, H., von Mering, S., Santos, J. (2024). Report on WikiProject International Botanical Congress 2024. (Version Number: 1, 24). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.13788266
Lindon, H.L., von Mering, S., Leachman, S., Ulloa Ulloa, C. (2025). Dataset of Burkhardt 2022 Encyclopaedia of Eponymic Plant Names (Version 1.1) [CSV]. Zenodo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14551489
Malekmohammadi, M., Koutroumpa, K., Crespo, M.B., Domina, G., Korotkova, N., Akhani, H., Von Mering, S., Borsch, T., Berendsohn, W.G. (2024). A taxonomic backbone for the Plumbaginaceae (Caryophyllales). PhytoKeys, 243, 67-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.243.122784
