Digitisation / Cataloguing of non-textual objects: Acquisition of ecophysiologically relevant morphometric data of fossil leaves

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Morphometric properties of fossil leaves provide a wealth of information for palaeoecological and palaeoclimatological research since many leaf traits are influenced by environment. Numerous important and famous fossil floras with high research potential are housed in various museum collections in Germany. In this project, it is intended to initiate access to morphometric data of fossil leaf collections by digitizing 5.000 leaves from selected collections and to classify them according to their morphometry. The aim is to allow for 1) a morphotype-based data base search, and 2) palaeoecological analysis of fossil leaves using morphometric traits. Morphological classification will be based on recent standards. In the current phase, this project will be focused on floras that originate from time intervals that encountered substantial changes in atmospheric CO2. We hope that this project will contribute substantially to an improved research access to museum collections of fossil leaves.