Improving Access to the Botanical Collection at the San Diego Natural History Museum through Improved Housing and Curation

在J.Rebman博士和P.Cato博士的指导下，圣地亚哥自然历史博物馆(SDNHM)获得了一笔赠款。该项目题为“改善获取SDNHM植物标本的途径”，将解决标本过度拥挤、获取途径和SDNHM植物标本馆藏未来增长的问题。SDNHM植物标本馆主要由来自南加州、下加利福尼亚州和相关地区的标本组成，现在收藏了大约150,000个维管和非维管植物标本。这些收藏对于研究加州植物区系省的多样性是非常有价值的，加州植物区系省是世界上25个生物多样性热点之一。在过去五年中，标本馆的收集、增长和研究活动稳步增加，病例现已达到饱和。SDNHM植物标本馆致力于生物多样性和自然历史研究以及对南加州和下加利福尼亚州地区植物区系的记录，其活动的中心是使用收集的标本进行系统学、植物区系、保护和生物多样性研究。目前正在资助的项目将通过增加存储空间和改进收藏品的管理，加强对SDNHM植物标本馆植物标本的获取。具体地说，这笔赠款将使人们能够购买许多新的标本柜和用品，以缓解严重的拥挤状况，并使收藏更容易获得和更好地管理。这项工作将需要雇用一名临时收集助理，以协助管理、搬运、虫害管理和组织收集工作。一旦拥挤的情况得到缓解，SDNHM的植物收藏得到更好的安置和管理，研究人员、学生、生物顾问和现场公众的访问将得到显著改善。这个项目将帮助SDNHM致力于以收集的标本为中心的活动，用于南加州和下加利福尼亚州当地的分类学、植物区系、保护和生物多样性研究。植物标本馆扩建项目还将有助于启动圣地亚哥县植物地图集项目(SDCPAP)，该项目正在由圣地亚哥县植物地图集研究所植物部组织。SDCPAP建议通过招募“副植物学家”(非专业植物学家，他们将接受适当植物标本的调查、清点和道德收集方面的培训)来记录该县的植物多样性，从覆盖整个县的网格系统中收集植物标本。这一点尤其重要，因为圣地亚哥县的植物多样性是美国毗邻的任何一个县中最高的，但这种多样性还没有被彻底记录下来。SDCPAP共同努力记录当地植物物种的出现和地理位置，并将有担保的标本存放在SDNHM植物标本馆，这将提供随着我们县日益发展而丢失的宝贵科学信息，并教育公众了解我们地区的生物学重要性。

A grant has been awarded to the San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM) under the direction of Drs. J. Rebman and P. Cato. The project, entitled "Improving access to the SDNHM botanical collection" will address overcrowding of specimens, access, and future growth of the collection at the SDNHM Herbarium. Dominated by specimens from southern California, Baja California and related areas, the SDNHM Herbarium now contains approximately150,000 specimens of vascular and nonvascular plants. This collection is invaluable for research on the diversity of the California Floristic Province, one of the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots. Within the last five years collection growth and research activity have increased steadily in the herbarium and cases are now at capacity. Committed to biodiversity and natural history research and documentation of the flora in southern California and the Baja California region, the SDNHM Herbarium activities are centered around the use of collected specimens for systematics, floristics, conservation, and biodiversity research. The current project being funded will enhance access to the botanical specimens in the SDNHM Herbarium through increased storage space and improved curation of its collections. Specifically, the grant will enable the purchase of many new herbarium cabinets and supplies in order to alleviate severe overcrowding and make the collection more accessible and better curated. This endeavor will require the hire of a temporary Collection Assistant to assist in curation, moving, pest management and organizing the collection. Once crowding is relieved, and the botanical collection at SDNHM is better housed and curated, access will be significantly improved for researchers, students, biological consultants, and the public onsite. This project will aid SDNHM with its commitment to activities centered on collected specimens for use in systematics, floristics, conservation, and biodiversity research in the southern California and Baja California local region. The herbarium expansion project will also help to facilitate the initiation of the San Diego County Plant Atlas Project (SDCPAP) that is being organized by the SDNHM Botany Department. The SDCPAP proposes to document the botanical diversity of the county by recruiting "parabotanists" (non-professional botanists who will be trained in the survey, inventory, and ethical collection of proper plant specimens) to collect plant specimens from a grid system covering the entire county. This is especially important because San Diego County has the highest botanical diversity of any county in the contiguous United States, but that diversity has not yet been thoroughly recorded. A concerted effort by the SDCPAP to document the occurrence and geographic location of local plant species with vouchered specimens to be deposited in the SDNHM Herbarium will provide valuable scientific information that is being lost as our County becomes increasingly developed and also educate the public on the biological importance of our region.