Computerization of Fungal and Vascular Plant Collections at Washington State University

在Larry D. Hufford博士的指导下，华盛顿州立大学获得了一笔拨款，用于将华盛顿州立大学植物标本室收集的维管植物和真菌信息计算机化。植物收藏遍布世界各地，但重点是北美西部的植物群，而这一地区正是该项目的重点。科学家和学生助理将把有关物种鉴定、分布、栖息地和收集时间的标签信息转录到计算机数据库中。该项目将收集15.5万个维管植物标本和近5.3万个真菌标本的数据。这些数据将在全球互联网上作为可搜索的信息数字目录提供，供研究人员、学生和自然资源管理者使用。这种现成的信息可用性将加快研究速度，并为可以从本国机构访问植物标本馆数据的研究人员节省时间和旅行费用。除了作为植物界的研究和教育工具的首要重要性外，该数据库还将为控制农业害虫和粮食安全提供有用的数据。赫福德博士和其他高级研究人员将监督该项目，该项目还将利用具有维管植物和真菌专业知识的研究生来培训和监督本科生作为数据输入专家。此外，赫福德博士计划将该数据库纳入中学基于互联网的教育项目。

A grant has been awarded to Washington State University under the direction of Dr. Larry D. Hufford to computerize information from collections of vascular plants and fungi in the herbarium of WSU. The plant collection has worldwide holdings but has an emphasis on the flora of western North America, and it is this region that is the focus of the project. The scientists and student assistants will transcribe information from labels on species identification, distribution, habitat, and time of collection into a computer database. Altogether, the project will capture data for 155,000 specimens of vascular plants and nearly 53,000 specimens of fungi. The data will be available worldwide on the Internet as a searchable digital catalog of information that will be used by researchers, students, and natural resource managers. This ready availability of information will expedite studies and save time and travel costs for researchers who can access the herbarium data from their home institutions. In addition to its primary importance as a research and educational tool for the botanical community, the database will provide data useful for control of agricultural pests and food security. Dr. Hufford and other senior investigators will oversee the project, which will also utilize graduate students with expertise in vascular plants and fungi to train and supervise undergraduate students as data entry specialists. In addition, Dr. Hufford plans to incorporate the database into middle school Internet-based educational programs.