Collaborative Research: Digitization TCN: Mobilizing New England Vascular Plant Specimen Data to Track Environmental Changes

标本馆标本提供了对研究全球环境变化有用的历史信息来源。该项目的目标是提供数据，以支持过去三个世纪新英格兰地区环境变化的性质和后果的研究。该项目将从新英格兰各地约130万个维管植物标本中以数字方式捕获标本数据和图像，通过地理参考、栖息地和物候学信息来增强数据。数字化进程将与现有的社区努力相结合，并将开发新的高通量数字化技术，以提高效率和降低成本。所有由此产生的数据和图像将在网上免费获得。来自该项目的数据将立即用于研究气候和土地利用变化的科学家，并将提供更好的了解全球变化将如何影响本地和引进植物物种的分布。该项目将以电子格式提供整个区域植物区系的数据，从而有利于分类学、生态学、形态学、生物地理学和进化史方面的研究。开发的方法将为全国其他地区提供借鉴。此外，该项目将利用公民科学家、学校团体和学生提供培训、研究和教育机会。。该奖项是通过推进生物收藏数字化计划作为国家生物收藏数字化资源的一部分颁发的，由该奖项产生的所有数据将通过国家资源(iDigBio.org)获得。

Herbarium specimens provide a source of historical information useful to the study of global environmental change. The goal of this project is to provide data to support studies of the nature and consequences of environmental change in the New England region over the last three centuries. This project will digitally capture specimen data and images from about 1.3 million vascular plant specimens from herbaria across New England, enhancing the data with georeferencing, habitat, and phonological information. The digitization process will integrate with existing community efforts and will develop novel high-throughput digitization technologies to increase efficiency and decrease costs. All resulting data and images will be freely available on-line.The data from this project will be of immediate use to scientists who study climate and land-use change, and will provide a better understanding of how global changes will impact the distribution of native and introduced plant species. This project will benefit research in taxonomy, ecology, morphology, biogeography, and evolutionary history by making available data on an entire regional flora in an electronic format. The methodologies developed will provide a model for other regions around the nation. In addition the project will utilize citizen scientists, school groups, and students providing training, research, and educational opportunities. . This award is made as part of the National Resource for Digitization of Biological Collections through the Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections program and all data resulting from this award will be available through the national resource (iDigBio.org).