An approach to ontology integration for ontology reuse in knowledge based digital ecosystems

In the last years, the large availability of information and knowledge models formalized by ontologies has demanded effective and efficient methodologies for reusing and integrating such models in global conceptualizations of a specific knowledge or application domain. The ability to effectively and efficiently perform knowledge reuse is a crucial factor in the development of ontologies, which are a potential solution to the problem of information standardization and a viaticum towards the realization of knowledge-based digital ecosystem. In this paper, an approach to ontology reuse based on heterogeneous matching techniques will be presented; in particular, we will show how the process of ontology building will be improved and simplified, by automating the selection and the reuse of existing data models to support the creation of digital ecosystems. The proposed approach has been applied to the food domain, specifically to food production.