This page provides a list of all currently recommended terms of the Darwin Core standard. Categories such as `Occurrence` or `Event` correspond to Darwin Core classes which group other terms. Convenient [files of these terms](https://github.com/tdwg/dwc/tree/master/dist) and [their full history](https://github.com/tdwg/dwc/blob/master/vocabulary/term_versions.csv) can be found in the [Darwin Core repository](https://github.com/tdwg/dwc).
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>The nature or genre of the resource.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Must be populated with a value from the DCMI type vocabulary (<ahref="http://dublincore.org/documents/2010/10/11/dcmi-type-vocabulary/">http://dublincore.org/documents/2010/10/11/dcmi-type-vocabulary/</a>).</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Access Rights may include information regarding access or restrictions based on privacy, security, or other policies.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>A bibliographic reference for the resource as a statement indicating how this record should be cited (attributed) when used.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Use to link a dcterms:Location instance subject to the lowest level standardized hierarchically-described resource.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use an IRI from a controlled registry. A "convenience property" that replaces Darwin Core literal-value terms related to locations. See Section 2.7.5 of the Darwin Core RDF Guide for details.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Use to link a dwc:Identification instance subject to a taxonomic entity such as a taxon, taxon concept, or taxon name use.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>A "convenience property" that replaces Darwin Core literal-value terms related to taxonomic entities. See Section 2.7.4 of the Darwin Core RDF Guide for details.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Use to link any subject resource that is part of a collection to the collection containing the resource.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use an IRI from a controlled registry. A "convenience property" that replaces literal-value terms related to collections and institutions. See Section 2.7.3 of the Darwin Core RDF Guide for details.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>A person, group, or organization who determined the georeference (spatial representation) for the Location.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Actions taken to make the shared data less specific or complete than in its original form. Suggests that alternative data of higher quality may be available on request.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>The current state of a specimen with respect to the collection identified in collectionCode or collectionID.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Use to link a dwc:GeologicalContext instance to chronostratigraphic time periods at the lowest possible level in a standardized hierarchy. Use this property to point to the earliest possible geological time period from which the cataloged item was collected.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use an IRI from a controlled vocabulary. A "convenience property" that replaces Darwin Core literal-value terms related to geological context. See Section 2.7.6 of the Darwin Core RDF Guide for details.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>The process by which the biological individual(s) represented in the Occurrence became established at the location.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>One of a) an indicator of the existence of, b) a reference to (publication, URI), or c) the text of notes taken in the field about the Event.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>The subject is a dwc:Event instance and the object is a (possibly IRI-identified) resource that is the field notes.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>An identifier given to the event in the field. Often serves as a link between field notes and the Event.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>The subject is a (possibly IRI-identified) resource that is the field notes and the object is a dwc:Event instance.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>A Well-Known Text (WKT) representation of the Spatial Reference System (SRS) for the footprintWKT of the Location. Do not use this term to describe the SRS of the decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude, even if it is the same as for the footprintWKT - use the geodeticDatum instead.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>A Well-Known Text (WKT) representation of the shape (footprint, geometry) that defines the Location. A Location may have both a point-radius representation (see decimalLatitude) and a footprint representation, and they may differ from each other.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Use to link a dwc:GeologicalContext instance to an IRI-identified lithostratigraphic unit at the lowest possible level in a hierarchy.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use an IRI from a controlled vocabulary. A "convenience property" that replaces Darwin Core literal-value terms related to geological context. See Section 2.7.7 of the Darwin Core RDF Guide for details.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>The ellipsoid, geodetic datum, or spatial reference system (SRS) upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude as based.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use an IRI for the EPSG code of the SRS, if known. Otherwise use an IRI or controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the geodetic datum, if known. Otherwise use an IRI or controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the ellipsoid, if known. If none of these is known, use the value <code>unknown</code>.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>A description or reference to the methods used to determine the spatial footprint, coordinates, and uncertainties.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>A categorical description of the extent to which the georeference has been verified to represent the best possible spatial description.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>A categorical indicator of the extent to which the taxonomic identification has been verified to be correct.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as that used in HISPID and ABCD.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Use to link a subject dataset record to the dataset which contains it.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>A string literal name of the dataset can be provided using the term dwc:datasetName. See the Darwin Core RDF Guide for details.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Use to link a dwc:GeologicalContext instance to chronostratigraphic time periods at the lowest possible level in a standardized hierarchy. Use this property to point to the latest possible geological time period from which the cataloged item was collected.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use an IRI from a controlled vocabulary. A "convenience property" that replaces Darwin Core literal-value terms related to geological context. See Section 2.7.6 of the Darwin Core RDF Guide for details.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>Information about the source of this Location information. Could be a publication (gazetteer), institution, or team of individuals.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>An identifier given to the Occurrence at the time it was recorded. Often serves as a link between field notes and an Occurrence record, such as a specimen collector's number.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>The subject is a dwc:Occurrence and the object is a (possibly IRI-identified) resource that is the field notes.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>The unit of measurement of the size (time duration, length, area, or volume) of a sample in a sampling event.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>A sampleSizeUnit must have a corresponding sampleSizeValue. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary such as the Ontology of Units of Measure <ahref="http://www.wurvoc.org/vocabularies/om-1.8/">http://www.wurvoc.org/vocabularies/om-1.8/</a> of SI units, derived units, or other non-SI units accepted for use within the SI.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>The spatial coordinate system for the verbatimLatitude and verbatimLongitude or the verbatimCoordinates of the Location.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. Terms in the dwciri namespace are intended to be used in RDF with non-literal objects.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Definition</td><td>The ellipsoid, geodetic datum, or spatial reference system (SRS) upon which coordinates given in verbatimLatitude and verbatimLongitude, or verbatimCoordinates are based.</td></tr>
<tr><tdclass="label">Comments</td><td>Recommended best practice is to use an IRI for the EPSG code of the SRS, if known. Otherwise use an IRI or controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the geodetic datum, if known. Otherwise use an IRI or controlled vocabulary for the name or code of the ellipsoid, if known. If none of these is known, use the value <code>unknown</code>.</td></tr>
