Computerization of the Kansas State University Herbarium: Digitizing a Critical Biodiversity Collection for the Great Plains

堪萨斯州立大学植物标本馆的计算机化：将大平原的重要生物多样性收藏数字化

• 批准号: 0544980
• 负责人: Carolyn Ferguson
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Kansas State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-05-01 至 2010-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0544980&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Computerization; Kansas; State; University; Herbarium

A grant has been awarded to Kansas State University under the direction of Dr. Carolyn Ferguson to support the computerization of the Kansas State University Herbarium (KSC). This collection contains 190,000 specimens from the Great Plains of North America. This collection of specimens and associated data provide a resource for understanding the ecosystem of the Great Plains, and the proposed database will make this resource available to scientists and educators worldwide. The project will capture data from plant specimen labels and enter them into the software program called Specify. This software will make the data accessible via the Internet to researchers interested in the identification, ecology, and distribution of plants of the region. Because the collection contains specimens collected throughout the last century, the completed database will allow comparisons of vegetation change over time and space and to study the early flora of the Great Plains. The database will be fully searchable, that is, scientists and other members of the public will be able to search for information on plants of the region using species names, localities, dates, and other terms in the database records. In addition to basic scientists, undergraduates at Kansas State University will be trained in data entry, georeferencing (determining from label data the sites where specimens were collected), curation methods (care and preservation of plant specimens), and the biodiversity of plants of the Great Basin. Several university courses will employ the database, including the introductory biology course, which will develop a focused exercise on the uses of natural history information. K-12 science classes and environmental education programs will use the database in secondary school workshops at the Konza Prairie Biological Station. The project will sponsor workshops that will train extension agents and other potential users throughout the state to use the database.

在Carolyn Ferguson博士的指导下，堪萨斯州立大学获得了一笔赠款，用于支持堪萨斯州立大学植物标本馆（KSC）的计算机化。这个收藏包含了来自北美大平原的190,000个标本。这些标本和相关数据的收集为了解大平原的生态系统提供了资源，而拟议的数据库将使全世界的科学家和教育工作者都能利用这些资源。该项目将从植物标本标签中获取数据，并将其输入名为“指定”的软件程序。该软件将使对该地区植物的鉴定、生态和分布感兴趣的研究人员可以通过互联网访问这些数据。由于收集的标本收集于上个世纪，完整的数据库将允许比较植被随时间和空间的变化，并研究大平原的早期植物群。数据库将是完全可搜索的，也就是说，科学家和其他公众成员将能够使用数据库记录中的物种名称、地点、日期和其他术语搜索该地区的植物信息。除了基础科学家之外，堪萨斯州立大学的本科生还将接受数据输入、地理参考（根据标签数据确定标本收集地点）、管理方法（植物标本的护理和保存）以及大盆地植物生物多样性方面的培训。几门大学课程将使用该数据库，包括生物学入门课程，这门课程将侧重于自然历史信息的使用。K-12科学课程和环境教育课程将在康扎草原生物站的中学讲习班中使用该数据库。该项目将举办讲习班，培训全州的推广人员和其他潜在用户使用该数据库。