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Diversity
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Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation
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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: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 7829

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Bogdan Jackowiak

E-Mail Website
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
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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 (6 papers)

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27 pages, 5424 KiB  
Article
How Does Sharing Data from Research Institutions on Global Biodiversity Information Facility Enhance Its Scientific Value?
by Bogdan Jackowiak and Marcin Lawenda
Diversity 2025, 17(4), 221; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17040221 - 22 Mar 2025
Viewed by 351
Abstract
For decades, thousands of scientific institutions worldwide have been digitizing collections documenting biodiversity. The advantages and benefits of this process are widely described. In this study, we test the hypothesis that digital data from local scientific institutions gain additional value once shared through [...] Read more.
For decades, thousands of scientific institutions worldwide have been digitizing collections documenting biodiversity. The advantages and benefits of this process are widely described. In this study, we test the hypothesis that digital data from local scientific institutions gain additional value once shared through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). We have closely examined the fate of over 2.2 million digital records deposited at the Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland (FBAMU), which have been available to the global community for over three years. The effectiveness of this effort is measured by the number of downloads (approximately 123,000), the number of records downloaded (45 billion), and most importantly, the number of scientific publications utilizing these data (an average of 3 publications per week). These publications appear both in the most prestigious scientific journals and regional sources. The thematic scope of papers utilizing FBAMU data shared through GBIF is very broad, covering 12 research areas, including fundamental biological fields (morphology, taxonomy and systematics, phylogeny and evolution, paleobiology, ecology, biogeography, biodiversity conservation, and biodiversity informatics), closely related applied research (agriculture and human health), and climate science and linguistic phylogeny. The most frequent uses of GBIF/FBAMU data have been in studies on processes and phenomena such as biodiversity loss, biological invasions, biogeographical patterns, changes in species ranges, climatic niche dynamics, interactions between organisms, and mechanisms of evolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation)
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23 pages, 2126 KiB  
Article
Mammals in the Collection of the National Museum of Natural History and Science (University of Lisbon, Portugal): A Contribution to Research and Conservation
by Maria da Luz Mathias, Rita I. Monarca, Tomé Neves, Joaquim T. Tapisso, Maria Judite Alves and Maria da Graça Ramalhinho
Diversity 2025, 17(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17010001 - 24 Dec 2024
Viewed by 956
Abstract
Museum collections serve as valuable repositories of biodiversity, offering a substantial amount of data and specimens for scientific research. This study describes the intrinsic value of the mammal collection at the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon [...] Read more.
Museum collections serve as valuable repositories of biodiversity, offering a substantial amount of data and specimens for scientific research. This study describes the intrinsic value of the mammal collection at the National Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) (MUHNAC), and its nationwide representativeness, with the final aim of revealing its potential to support research and conservation initiatives. The collection includes 6158 specimens, from 131 species, across 10 orders, the great majority collected within Portugal, although a small dataset mostly from other parts of Europe and Africa is also available. The most represented orders are Rodentia, Eulipotyphla, and Carnivora, in contrast to Chiroptera, Cetacea, and Artiodactyla. Approximately 40% of the species within these groups are of conservation concern according to both national and international conventions, with nearly 20% at risk of extinction based on IUCN criteria. Additionally, the representativity of species in MUHNAC reflects the museum’s coverage of species records across the country, with smaller, non-threatened species being more prominently represented and larger, at-risk species being comparatively underrepresented. The influence of conservation, economic, legal, and ethical factors on the species spatial coverage is discussed, providing insights into the variability observed in museum collections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation)
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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 1444
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
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation)
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11 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 1281
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
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation)
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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 2264
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
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation)
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9 pages, 3423 KiB  
Conference Report
Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy in the Digitization of Arthropods’ Biological Collections
by Zbigniew Adamski, Jacek Wendzonka and Szymon Konwerski
Diversity 2025, 17(3), 211; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17030211 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 280
Abstract
Among biological museum specimens, many relatively small organisms are difficult to observe macroscopically. Therefore, their attractiveness to visitors is limited. To present such small objects, various magnifying techniques can be used in combination with the digital presentation of the specimens. In this conference [...] Read more.
Among biological museum specimens, many relatively small organisms are difficult to observe macroscopically. Therefore, their attractiveness to visitors is limited. To present such small objects, various magnifying techniques can be used in combination with the digital presentation of the specimens. In this conference report, we describe how we use amalgamating techniques, along with their advantages and limitations. Our strategy uses light and electron microscopy to present small biological specimens. Light microscopy enables the observation of organisms in their natural colors but does not allow precise observation of very small microstructures, such as setae, ommatidia, and cuticle sculpture. In turn, scanning electron microscopy, thanks to its very good resolution and the possibility of obtaining higher magnifications, allows the observation of fine details of structure, but the objects are presented in grayscale. We present the scheme we use to prepare arthropods that are stored as museum specimens for digitization and subsequent presentation to visitors. Our strategy enables the comprehensive use of the specimens, as well as limiting the number of museum specimens used to prepare digital collections and reducing the number of individuals captured in the wild. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digitization of Natural History Collections for Biodiversity Science and Conservation)
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