Collaborative Research: Linked Databases and Interactive Key for the Vascular Flora of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region

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A collaborative grant has been awarded to Colorado State University under the directionof Dr. Mark Simmons; University of Colorado at Boulder under the direction of Drs.Thomas Ranker and Robert Guralnick; University of Northern Colorado under thedirection of Dr. Neil Snow; and University of Wyoming under the direction of Dr. RonaldHartman to produce an online distributed database of collections of vascular plants fromthe Southern Rocky Mountain Region (SRMR) and create an online, interactiveidentification key for vascular plants from the SRMR. The region covered by this projectincludes the entire State of Colorado, nine counties from southern Wyoming, and eightcounties from northcentral New Mexico. The SRMR as defined here is a reasonablycoherent ecoregion based on many shared geological and biological features, such as anumber of mountain chains of Laramide orogeny, and many vascular plant species arerestricted to this region. The SRMR is characterized by a rich diversity of ecosystems,ranging from semi-arid grasslands to the east, through montane pine, subalpinespruce-fir forests, and alpine tundra in the center, to canyons and mesas in the west.Unique wetland and riparian ecosystems exist on the plains, and nutrient-poor streamsand lakes are frequent in the mountains. This broad range of ecosystems fosters adiverse flora, and is reflective of strong topographic forcings and steep climaticgradients. In addition to herbarium specimens at the Colorado State UniversityHerbarium, the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, the University of Colorado Herbarium, andthe University of Northern Colorado Herbarium, the distributed database will incorporatespecimens from the SRMR that have been databased at other regional and nationalherbaria.The interactive key will be produced using Lucid Professional version 2.1, which isintended primarily for use online. Each of the approximately 4,000 species treated inthe key will have associated windows describing its associated names, distribution,voucher specimens, and images. For the specimen database, a Federation ofDatabases that communicate with each other will be created. The Federation ofDatabases will be implemented by following the specifications suggested by the DigitalGeneric Information Retrieval group. Georeferencing is crucial for the production ofstatic or dynamic species maps or atlases and for the import of data into GeographicInformation Systems. All specimens will be georeferenced as part of this project. Eachstep in the process of creating linked databases and the interactive key will bedocumented. Clear documentation will also be provided for becoming part of the initialdatabase federation to future investigators.The specimen database established by this project will document and locate thevascular plant diversity that currently exists in this region, and help track the rate andmagnitude of change in biodiversity patterns caused by urban development over thenext several decades. It will be useful for discerning areas of high biodiversity,determining the point of introduction and the spread of invasive species, locatingvoucher specimens, and as a coverage in geographic-information-systems applications.The educational implications of the proposal will extend the usefulness of this project.