Advances in Wiregrass Georgia: Infrastructural Improvements to Sustain Another Half-Century of Herbarium-Based Research and Teaching

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In the number of vascular plant species, Georgia ranks seventh among the states. Much of this biodiversity resides in the fire-dependent longleaf pine-wiregrass communities and associated seepage slopes and pitcher-plant bogs, sand hills, barrier islands, Carolina bays, tupelo swamps, mesic slopes with Appalachian affinities, and blackland prairies of the Coastal Plain. Georgia is the fourth most rapidly growing state in the U.S. and the fastest in the Southeast, and its native plants and ecosystems are threatened by land development and invasive exotic plants. A collection of more than 70,000 museum-quality specimens, the Valdosta State University Herbarium has major strength and focus on plant diversity of the Georgia Coastal Plain. It is the primary resource for scientific research about plants of this region. The online availability of digital photographs and the data from biological collections greatly increases access to specimens and the potential for using these biodiversity resources in diverse ways, including the assessment of the ecological and conservation status of species and ecosystems, and changing trends in populations of plant species, related to climate change, habitat degradation, and the introduction of exotic species. The virtual access enabled by this project will promote knowledge, use, and recognition of the valuable biodiversity data in the Valdosta State University Herbarium.This project will enhance infrastructure of the Valdosta State University Herbarium through the installation of a high-density storage system that will increase its specimen holding capacity by about 30%. The new compactor system will provide secure and safe storage of this irreplaceable biodiversity resource and will sustain its growth for the next 15 years. This project will provide funds to mount and digitize 5,000 specimens and provide precise geographical coordinates for nearly 15,000 specimen records, making vitally important specimens and their associated digital photographs and data available to the community of biodiversity researchers and others online. This project will also secure and revitalize the extensive and currently dormant Vanderbilt University Teaching Collections by bringing them to Valdosta State University where they will be used to train future generations of students and biodiversity researchers. The specialized learning promoted through the direct involvement of undergraduate students in curating and digitizing biological collections and in biodiversity research will bring new perspectives on potential careers in science. Students will present their work at scientific meetings, and opportunities provided through this project will enable the participation of under-represented groups. Outreach programs targeting young people at an impressionable age, their teachers, and others will bring issues of biological collections and biodiversity before a large and diverse audience through herbarium tours, informal presentations, and a summer workshop for teachers. All data resulting from this project will be posted online (http://herb.valdosta.edu/) and shared with iDigBio (https://www.idigbio.org/), ensuring accessibility to researchers and educators. Additional information is available at http://ww2.valdosta.edu/~rcarter/HERB/Herbindex.htm.