Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 3946

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Systematic and Environmental Botany, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, 61-614 Poznan, Poland
Interests: anthropogenic changes in flora and vegetation; urban flora; invasive plant biology; biology of endangered and vulnerable plants; distribution and ecology of field weeds; environmental impact assessment; phenology and aeropalynology of allergenic plants; digitization and biodiversity database
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural history collections (NHCs) are fundamental to the study of the diversity and variability of organisms. The digitization of NHCs is an increasingly important conservation tool which is currently contributing to many areas of biodiversity research. Interest in the digital information archived at NHCs has increased rapidly due to the global, regional, and local threat to biodiversity. This Special Issue will discuss the digitization of NHCs and studies based on the obtained data. Potential topics include (but are not limited to):

  • Best practices for digitizing NHCs and the associated difficulties.
  • Integrating digitized collections with other biodiversity survey tools such as barcoding or remote sensing.
  • The benefits and challenges of digitization, including improved scientific understanding and enhanced biodiversity conservation management.
  • The role of digitized collections in monitoring biodiversity changes and ecosystem dynamics.
  • The potential of digitized NHCs in prioritizing areas for conservation and species management.
  • Interdisciplinary perspectives on the digitization of NHCs and its potential to advance biodiversity conservation.
  • Digitization of collections as an opportunity to develop citizen science and education.

Prof. Dr. Bogdan Jackowiak
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biodiversity loss
  • conservation
  • biodiversity data collection, management and aggregation
  • a new source of biodiversity data
  • digital identification keys
  • digitalization of natural history collections
  • nomenclators and taxonomic databases
  • biological collections

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 7174 KiB  
Article
Historical and Contemporary Herbaria as a Source of Data in Plant Taxonomy and Phytogeography Research: An Example from Poland
by Adam Rostański, Izabela Gerold-Śmietańska and Barbara Tokarska-Guzik
Diversity 2024, 16(8), 434; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16080434 - 23 Jul 2024
Viewed by 428
Abstract
The art of drying plants has a long tradition. It was already known in the Middle Ages as a form of documenting flora. It began to develop more intensively in Europe in the 16th century. This method of documenting plant collections quickly gained [...] Read more.
The art of drying plants has a long tradition. It was already known in the Middle Ages as a form of documenting flora. It began to develop more intensively in Europe in the 16th century. This method of documenting plant collections quickly gained recognition among scientists. Its role and importance has changed throughout historical periods. The current study presents a short history and resources of Polish and European herbaria against the background of world data. It primarily focuses on indicating their contemporary importance in research in plant taxonomy and geography, as well as on the current situation of herbaria and problems identified using the example of Polish herbaria. Full article
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0 pages, 12266 KiB  
Article
Szulczewski’s Fungarium—A Collection of Fungi on Their Host Plants in the POZ Herbarium, Poznań, Poland
by Elżbieta Zenkteler, Zbigniew Celka, Piotr Szkudlarz and Joanna Nita
Diversity 2024, 16(7), 387; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16070387 - 6 Jul 2024
Viewed by 619
Abstract
The fungarium was collected by Jerzy Wojciech Szulczewski in the Wielkopolska region in Western Poland in 1909–1911, 1928, and 1960–1966 (nine volumes). It includes dried plant specimens with disease symptoms of fungal origin and is currently located in the POZ Herbarium (Adam Mickiewicz [...] Read more.
The fungarium was collected by Jerzy Wojciech Szulczewski in the Wielkopolska region in Western Poland in 1909–1911, 1928, and 1960–1966 (nine volumes). It includes dried plant specimens with disease symptoms of fungal origin and is currently located in the POZ Herbarium (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland). It is one of the oldest and richest Polish collections of this category although some parts were destroyed or lost after the Second World War. Many of the sheets have original annotations by the author and hand-written labels with both plant and fungus names. A checklist of all species is presented in the appendix. The whole collection was digitized in 2023 and is available on the website of the AMUNATCOLL project. Full article
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8 pages, 2120 KiB  
Communication
Database and Digitization of Regional Historical Herbaria: A Case Study of Margittai Collection in the Uzhhorod National University Herbarium (UU)
by Andriy V. Mihaly, Vasyl I. Sabadosh, Vasyl I. Roman and Myroslav V. Shevera
Diversity 2024, 16(4), 211; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16040211 - 30 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1672
Abstract
The digitization of herbarium collections guarantees a preservation and long-term use of scientifically valuable objects, e.g., wide and convenient access to these materials online and exchange between institutions. These are also important elements in the education and popularization of botanical knowledge. No less [...] Read more.
The digitization of herbarium collections guarantees a preservation and long-term use of scientifically valuable objects, e.g., wide and convenient access to these materials online and exchange between institutions. These are also important elements in the education and popularization of botanical knowledge. No less significant is the practical aspect of these studies due to the danger of these collections’ destruction as a result of Russian aggression—some of them have already been destroyed. The analyzed Margittai collection (1500 specimens) is kept at the Uzhhorod National University Herbarium (UU) and belongs to the historical and regional ones. This material is valuable because of its scientific, historical and cultural significance. By the initiative and thanks to the efforts of Prof. S. Fodor, the studied collection (most of which are doublet specimens) was transferred in 1965 from the Hungarian Natural History Museum (BP), where the main herbarium of the researcher is preserved (40,000 specimens), to the Uzhhorod State University. Due to the fact that the collection has not been studied, in 2021, the authors began a special investigation of this collection and assessment of its current state. The structure of the database has been developed, it is being filled, and the digitization of type materials has begun. Full article
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