# Data management plan

**Plan date:** 2026-08-04  
**Project:** DJI Mavic 3M optical screening of rice bacterial leaf blight suspect areas  
**Data steward:** study author, with access delegated only to documented project personnel

## 1. Data classes

| Class | Examples | Storage and access | Public release |
|---|---|---|---|
| A — openly licensed source data | BLB Figshare v3; eligible CC BY 4.0 supporting data | Read-only source vault; checksum-verified | DOI link and manifest by default; copies only with attribution, license and provenance |
| B — rights-unresolved/restricted data | GD-RGBMS-DB while License field is blank; NCHU restricted dataset | Do not ingest until approved; if approved, encrypted restricted storage outside Git and web roots | No source files, patches, previews, weights or recoverable derivatives unless written permission explicitly allows them |
| C — prospective private field data | Mavic 3M raw bands, orthomosaics, calibration panels, RTK logs, precise coordinates and expert labels | Encrypted project storage with least-privilege access | De-identified derived metrics or authorized image tiles only; coordinates generalized or withheld |
| D — project-created material | Original code, configuration, split manifests, aggregate tables and original figures | Version-controlled repository when free of secrets and restricted inputs | May be released under the project's stated license |
| E — model artifacts | Checkpoints, calibration objects, inference logs | Artifact store linked to exact data manifest and code revision | Release only after every training source permits resulting-weight publication and risk review passes |

## 2. Source registration and provenance

Every external source is entered in `source-registry.csv` before access. Required fields include DOI/URL, repository version, retrieval date, displayed license or terms, sensor, disease target, intended use and restrictions.

For every acquired file, store in a non-public manifest:

- original filename and repository-relative path;
- byte size and SHA-256 checksum;
- DOI/version and retrieval date;
- band name, units and nodata value;
- source site/field/date/orthomosaic group where supplied;
- annotation creator and method where supplied;
- license snapshot and permission correspondence identifier.

Do not silently overwrite a source version. A changed repository record receives a new manifest and provenance entry.

## 3. Logical storage zones

The following names describe storage policy and do not imply that restricted content belongs in this repository:

- `source-vault/open-readonly/`: checksum-locked copies of explicitly open data;
- `source-vault/restricted/`: encrypted, access-controlled content approved for limited use;
- `working/derived/`: regenerable calibrated arrays, tiles and masks;
- `artifacts/private/`: checkpoints or logs that may encode restricted training data;
- `release/`: rights-cleared code, manifests, aggregate results and authorized figures only.

Source vaults and private artifacts must be outside website static directories, Docker build contexts and public Git tracking. Credentials, API tokens, landholder details and precise coordinates are stored in a secrets manager or encrypted restricted record, never `.env` files committed to Git.

## 4. Dataset-specific controls

### BLB Figshare v3

- Verify CC BY 4.0 on the exact record version and retain attribution.
- Expect 11,144 files: 11,142 image/mask files across D1/D2/D3 plus two supporting files.
- Preserve the authors' release split only for reproduction.
- Mark `group_id=unknown` where field/date metadata are absent; never fabricate group membership.
- Any project re-split based on similarity or recovered provenance is saved as a distinct derived manifest and fully described.

### GD-RGBMS-DB

- License field is blank as of 2026-08-04.
- Store bibliographic metadata only while rights remain unresolved.
- Do not download into the training workflow, redistribute files, publish thumbnails, or release weights trained on it.
- Written permission must expressly address model training, derivative weights, publication, commercial use and redistribution; silence is not consent.

### NCHU dataset

- No project access is assumed.
- If pursued, preserve the application, approved purpose, users, expiry and all platform restrictions.
- Do not transfer files among collaborators unless the approval expressly permits it.

## 5. Prospective Mavic 3M field data

Assign opaque site and plot IDs. Store the identity-to-ID key separately. Public maps must remove owner names and blur or generalize private-field coordinates unless explicit informed permission covers exact disclosure.

Minimum capture metadata:

- UTC/local capture time and timezone;
- aircraft, camera and firmware identifiers;
- altitude, speed, overlap, exposure and sunlight-sensor status;
- calibration-panel ID and pre/post-flight capture;
- RTK/ground-control status, CRS and processing-software version;
- weather/illumination notes, cultivar, growth stage and agronomic confounders;
- annotator role, observation date, disease-confidence tier and any laboratory result.

People, faces, vehicle plates, neighboring private property and unrelated structures are excluded, masked or access-restricted. Images used for annotation retain an immutable original plus a logged derived version.

## 6. Processing and quality assurance

- Source imagery remains immutable; corrections produce versioned derivatives.
- Band order is explicit in metadata and verified by automated tests.
- Radiometric calibration, co-registration, mosaicking, clipping, nodata masking, index calculation and patch extraction are logged with parameter hashes.
- Split manifests are generated before patch extraction and checked for group overlap.
- Near-duplicate hashes and spatial adjacency checks are recorded, but similarity heuristics are not represented as recovered field provenance.
- Failed or excluded observations remain in an exclusion log with a reason; they are not silently deleted.

## 7. Retention and deletion

Open source manifests, release artifacts and published-result provenance are retained with the corresponding research version. Restricted data are deleted or returned at permission expiry unless renewed in writing. Prospective private raw data follow the consent/contract retention period. Deletion includes working copies, cloud synchronization, caches and scheduled backups to the extent operationally possible; a deletion log records scope and date.

## 8. Reproducibility package

The public package may contain:

- source registry and machine-readable checksums for rights-cleared files;
- scripts that download from authoritative DOI records without bypassing controls;
- original preprocessing/training/evaluation code and environment lock files;
- split manifests that reveal no sensitive location;
- aggregate metrics, uncertainty results and original figures;
- a rights notice and citations.

It must not contain copied full webpages, screenshots, unlicensed PDFs, precise private coordinates, personal data, restricted datasets, GD-RGBMS-DB files while its license is blank, or model weights derived from rights-unresolved sources.

## 9. Incident and correction process

If a rights, privacy, provenance or integrity problem is found:

1. stop distribution and downstream training for the affected artifact;
2. record source, version, affected outputs and discovery date;
3. quarantine files without destroying evidence needed for audit;
4. notify the responsible author/data steward and, where appropriate, the source owner;
5. remove or replace affected public artifacts, issue a versioned correction and preserve the correction record;
6. retrain from a clean, rights-cleared manifest if weights may encode an unauthorized source.

