Sustainable Value and Generativity in the Ecological Metadata Language (EML) Platform: Toward New Knowledge and Investigations

This paper examines Ecological Metadata Language (EML) as a generative platform facilitating new ecological research. It reflects on literature about the EML platform, and on the EML platform itself. First, it identifies a substantial gap in literature about use of the EML platform for intended research. Second, it identifies some strengths and weaknesses of the EML platform to support research about variance, process, and configurational theories. Third, it examines the EML platform's strengths and weaknesses in mediating values, particularly those concerning new kinds of ecological research envisioned in EML literature. Finally, it contributes some brief directions for future research, including: expanding notions of valuable (meta) data, of use and of users; articulating clear value; and exploring the morphology of (meta) data.