RCN: SERNEC: SouthEast Network of Expertise and Collections

东南地区专业知识和收藏网络(SERNEC)包括美国东南部15个州的150种草药。SERNEC的中心愿景是促进对地球上植物多样性最丰富的地区之一的更广泛了解，这将导致更好的植物学研究，改善合理的生物多样性和土地使用管理，并使公众更知情。东南部有大量未开发的土地，有很好的记录过去植物迁徙的记录，并且是大量植物标本收藏的所在地，所有这些都使它成为评估我们不断变化的生物群的理想模型。通过整合区域范围内的收藏品，将较小的草本植物和较大的研究收藏品联系起来，SERNEC网络将向对栖息地碎片化、全球变暖、入侵物种和其他紧迫的区域、国家和全球生物学问题感兴趣的研究人员和教育工作者广泛提供信息和专业知识。SERNEC为实现其愿景而追求的目标是：1)制定计划，以数字形式向科学界和普通用户提供区域收藏品；2)协调网络成员和参与者之间的研究活动，以帮助解决人类对生物群的影响以及如何改善这种影响；3)协调教学活动，培训新的植物学家，帮助K-12教师开发新的和更丰富的课程，并在公众中激发更多的植物学意识。该网络将在东南部生物学家协会(ASB)、南阿巴拉契亚植物学会(SABS)和植物标本馆馆长协会(SHC)年会的同时，每年举办五次区域专题讨论会/讲习班，并举办国家级专题讨论会/讲习班。一份电子讨论清单用于协调核心网络参与者的活动，另一份已创建，以协调代表45个草药的一个更大的小组。小岛屿发展中国家和小岛屿发展中国家委员会的网站可在网上查阅，网址为http://www.newberrynet.com/sabs/shc/，目前正在编写一份电子通讯，可以硬拷贝形式分发给其他感兴趣的各方。区域范围内收集的数据库将为解决分类学、生态学、进化、保护和植物天然产物研究问题提供信息。这一区域专门知识网络与其他大规模数据收集和传播倡议相辅相成，以便为未来的研究工作产生协同增效的想法。不同机构的专家之间的互动提供了一个“虚拟校园”，以帮助培训生物学家，并为联邦、州和地方机构以及社区大学寻找所需的专业知识提供资源。植物标本馆及其策展专业知识是K-12教师、学生和更广泛社区的极好的信息来源，这个网络提供了必要的信息，以帮助每个标本馆最大限度地扩大与教育工作者和当地公众的联系。最后，该网络将确保独特的研究材料的长期保存和公众获取。

The SouthEast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC) includes 150 herbaria in 15 states throughout the southeastern United States. The central vision for SERNEC is to engender a wider understanding of one of the most botanically diverse regions of the earth, which will lead to better botanical research, improvements in rational biodiversity and land-use management, and a better-informed public. The Southeast contains a significant amount of undeveloped land, has a well-documented record of past plant migrations, and is home to a large number of herbarium collections, all of which make it an ideal model for evaluating our changing biota. By integrating collections at a regional scale, linking smaller herbaria and larger research collections, the SERNEC network will make information and expertise broadly available to researchers and educators interested in habitat fragmentation, global warming, invasive species, and other pressing regional, national, and global biological issues.The goals SERNEC is pursuing in achieving its vision are: 1) developing plans to make regional collections available in digital form to the scientific community and general users, 2) coordinating research activities among network members and participants to help address the impact of humans on the biota and how that impact can be ameliorated, 3) coordinating teaching and learning activities to train new botanists, to help K-12 teachers develop new and richer curricula, and to spur greater botanical awareness among the general public. The network will hold five annual regional symposia/workshops in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB), the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society (SABS) and The Society of Herbarium Curators (SHC) and state level symposia/workshops. An electronic discussion list serves to coordinate activities of the core network participants and a second has been created to coordinate a larger group representing 45 herbaria. The SHC/SERNEC website is available online at http://www.newberrynet.com/sabs/shc/ and an electronic newsletter is being developed that can be distributed in hard copy to reach other interested parties. Databasing collections on a regional scale will provide information to address taxonomic, ecological, evolutionary, conservation and plant natural products research questions. This network of regional expertise complements other large-scale data gathering and dissemination initiatives to generate a synergy of ideas for future research endeavors. Interactions among experts at various institutions provides a "virtual campus" to assist in training biologists and serves as a resource for finding needed expertise for federal, state and local agencies, and community colleges. Herbaria and their curatorial expertise are an excellent source of information for K-12 teachers, students, and the broader community, and this network provides the information needed to assist each herbarium in maximizing their outreach to educators and the local public. Finally, this network will ensure the long-term preservation of and public access to unique research materials.