• Basic Information
• Additional Info

Basic Information

• Project No. and Title: WERA_OLD1015 : Developing the US National Virtual Herbarium
• Period Covered: 10/01/2013 to 09/01/2014
• Date of Report: 08/31/2014
• Annual Meeting Dates: 07/27/2014 to 07/27/2014

Participants

Barkworth, Mary (mary.barkworth@usu.edu) - Utah State University, Utah; Barrington, David (dbarring@uvm.edu) - University of Vermont, Vermont; Dolan, Rebecca (rdolan@butler.usu) - Butler University, Indiana; Gabel, Mark (markgabel@bhsu.edu) - Black Hills State University, South Dakota; Gilbert, Ed (egbot@asu.edu) - Arizona State University, Arizona; Gries, Corinna (cgries@wisc.edu) - University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin; Gust, Greg (ggust@envlc.org) - Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, Nevada; Harloe, Lisa (unknown) - Tetratech,; Hartman, Ronald L. (rhartman@uwyo.edu) - University of Wyoming, Wyoming; Islam, Melissa (melissa.islam@botanicgardens.org) Denver Botanic Garden, Colorado; Knox, Eric (eknox@indiana.edu) - Indiana University, Indiana; Krings, Alexander (alexander_krings@ncsu.edu) - North Carolina State University, North Carolina; Larson, Gary (Gary.Larson@SDSTATE.EDU) – South Dakota State university, South Dakota; Legler, Ben (blegler@u.washington.edu) - University of Washington, Washington; Les, Don (don.les@uconn.edu) - University of Connecticut, Connecticut; Lewis, Deb, (dlewis@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University, Iowa; Lowrey, Tim (tlowrey@unm.edu) - University of New Mexico, New Mexico; Mark Mayfield, Mark (markherb@ksu.edu) - Kansas State University, Kansas; Melissa Tulig, Melissa (mtulig@nybg.org) - New York Botanical Garden, New York; Mishler, Brent (bmishler@calmail.berkeley.edu) - University of California – Berkeley, California; Murrell, Zack (murrellze@appstate.edu) - Appalachian State University, North Carolina; Riggs, Erin (Erin.Riggs@portlandoregon.gov) - Hoyt Arboretum, Oregon; Struwe, Lena (struwe@aesop.rutgers.edu) – Rutgers University, New Jersey; Thiers, Barbara (bthiers@nybg.org) - New York Botanical Garden, New York; Travis Almquist, Travis (talmquist@benedictine.edu) - Benedictine College, Kansas; Watson, Kim (kwatson@nybg.org) - New York Botanical Garden, New York;

Accomplishments

Impacts

1. At the start of the project, there were three herbarium networks in, or coming into, existence. There was no easy mechanism for herbaria outside these networks to share and present data. Today networks cover the whole country.
2. The first survey conducted received 192 returns; 33% of the respondents were databasing their specimens, 3% were imaging. The 2013 survey received 299 responses; 77% of the responding herbaria were databasing; 45% imaging their specimens.
3. The number of herbaria reported as being connected, or about to be connected, to a network in 2014 is around 500.
4. The networks are engaging many small herbaria whose collections would have been overlooked in the past.
5. Personnel in all network-connected herbaria are made aware of the value of high quality data and the importance of observing international standards when recording it. Thus, by promoting herbarium digitization the project has promoted awareness of standards.
6. In 2013, there are over 22 million databased records in the responding herbaria, an increase of 6 million over the number reported for 2011.
7. As herbaria begin georeferencing their specimens, those associated with them become aware of meaning and importance of geographic parameters such as datums, coordinate systems, and uncertainty.
8. Thanks to investment by various agencies, notably the National Science Foundation, digitizing a herbarium has become relatively simple. It is still costly because of the time required but software development funded by the National Science Foundation has reduced the costs involved and encouraged collaboration.
9. Through georeferencing, students and others often become interested in geography.

Publications