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

科罗拉多州立大学在Mark Simmons博士的指导下，科罗拉多大学博尔德分校在Thomas Ranker和Robert Guralnick博士的指导下，北科罗拉多大学在Neil Snow博士的指导下，怀俄明大学在Ronald Hartman博士的指导下，创建南落基山脉地区维管植物的在线分布式数据库(SRMR)，并创建SRMR维管植物的在线互动识别检索表。该项目覆盖的地区包括整个科罗拉多州，怀俄明州南部的9个县，以及新墨西哥州中北部的8个县。这里定义的SRMR是一个相当连贯的生态区，基于许多共同的地质和生物特征，如一些拉莱米德造山作用的山脉，许多维管植物物种仅限于该地区。SRMR具有丰富的生态系统多样性，从东部的半干旱草原，到中部的山地松林、亚高山云杉冷杉林和高山苔原，再到西部的峡谷和台地。平原上存在着独特的湿地和河岸生态系统，山区经常出现营养不良的溪流和湖泊。这种广泛的生态系统培育了多样化的植物区系，反映了强烈的地形压力和陡峭的气候梯度。除了科罗拉多州立大学植物标本馆、落基山植物标本馆、科罗拉多大学标本馆和北科罗拉多大学标本馆的标本标本外，分布式数据库还将包括SRMR的标本，这些标本已经在其他地区和国家植物标本馆建立了数据库。交互密钥将使用Lucid专业版2.1生成，该版本主要用于在线使用。在该检索库中处理的大约4,000种物种中的每一种都将有相关的窗口，描述其相关的名称、分布、凭证标本和图像。对于标本数据库，将创建一个相互通信的数据库的联盟。数据库联盟将按照数字通用信息检索小组建议的规格执行。地理参考对于制作静态或动态物种地图或地图集以及将数据输入地理信息系统至关重要。所有标本都将作为该项目的一部分进行地理参考。将记录创建链接数据库和交互关键字过程中的每个步骤。该项目建立的标本数据库将记录和定位该地区目前存在的维管植物多样性，并帮助跟踪未来几十年城市发展造成的生物多样性格局的变化速度和幅度。它将有助于识别生物多样性高的地区，确定引入点和入侵物种的传播，定位凭单样本，并作为地理信息系统应用的覆盖范围。这项提议的教育意义将扩大这个项目的用处。互动钥匙将在大学水平上对植物鉴定和植物系统学课程具有重要价值。该项目还将在中学教学一级有一个教育宣传部分，其基础是编写一本教学资料。教学检索表将成为该地区200种最常见维管植物的互动检索表。

A collaborative grant has been awarded to Colorado State University under the direction of Dr. Mark Simmons; University of Colorado at Boulder under the direction of Drs. Thomas Ranker and Robert Guralnick; University of Northern Colorado under the direction of Dr. Neil Snow; and University of Wyoming under the direction of Dr. Ronald Hartman to produce an online distributed database of collections of vascular plants from the Southern Rocky Mountain Region (SRMR) and create an online, interactive identification key for vascular plants from the SRMR. The region covered by this project includes the entire State of Colorado, nine counties from southern Wyoming, and eight counties from northcentral New Mexico. The SRMR as defined here is a reasonably coherent ecoregion based on many shared geological and biological features, such as a number of mountain chains of Laramide orogeny, and many vascular plant species are restricted to this region. The SRMR is characterized by a rich diversity of ecosystems, ranging from semi-arid grasslands to the east, through montane pine, subalpine spruce-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 streams and lakes are frequent in the mountains. This broad range of ecosystems fosters a diverse flora, and is reflective of strong topographic forcings and steep climatic gradients. In addition to herbarium specimens at the Colorado State University Herbarium, the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, the University of Colorado Herbarium, and the University of Northern Colorado Herbarium, the distributed database will incorporate specimens from the SRMR that have been databased at other regional and national herbaria.The interactive key will be produced using Lucid Professional version 2.1, which is intended primarily for use online. Each of the approximately 4,000 species treated in the key will have associated windows describing its associated names, distribution, voucher specimens, and images. For the specimen database, a Federation of Databases that communicate with each other will be created. The Federation of Databases will be implemented by following the specifications suggested by the Digital Generic Information Retrieval group. Georeferencing is crucial for the production of static or dynamic species maps or atlases and for the import of data into Geographic Information Systems. All specimens will be georeferenced as part of this project. Each step in the process of creating linked databases and the interactive key will be documented. Clear documentation will also be provided for becoming part of the initial database federation to future investigators.The specimen database established by this project will document and locate the vascular plant diversity that currently exists in this region, and help track the rate and magnitude of change in biodiversity patterns caused by urban development over the next several decades. It will be useful for discerning areas of high biodiversity, determining the point of introduction and the spread of invasive species, locating voucher specimens, and as a coverage in geographic-information-systems applications. The educational implications of the proposal will extend the usefulness of this project. The interactive key will be of great value at the college level for plant identification and plant systematics classes. The project will also have an educational outreach component at the secondary school teaching level based on the production of a Teaching Key. The Teaching Key will be an interactive key to the 200 most common vascular plant species in the region.