Research and Educational Use of North Carolina State University Mycological Herbarium Through Improved Computerization and Internet Presence

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公共法律第111-5条)资助的。将开发一个用户友好的电子数据库，以便教师、监管机构和研究人员能够轻松获取导致植物病害和木材腐烂的独特真菌集合。该数据库将在以下网站上提供：http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantpath/activities/labs-projects/myherb/.北卡罗来纳州立大学的这个收藏建立于1970年，代表了美国东南部最全面的木材腐烂真菌集合。真菌是从不同的、通常是独特的栖息地收集的，用记录的地理位置进行识别，并保存下来供教育工作者和科学家使用。通过互联网访问这一有价值的收集及其建立的数据基线，将有利于州和联邦监管机构关注对人类和植物有害的入侵真菌物种的引入。这些收集还可能导致鉴定可用于将木材转化为生物燃料、改善土壤健康并作为气候变化指标的真菌。除了供科学和监管机构使用外，该数据库还将是教育和培训高中生物教师、学生和普通公众关于真菌对社会的重要性以及了解它们在独特生态系统中的分布和生物多样性的重要资源。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).A user-friendly, electronic database will be developed to provide teachers, regulatory agencies, and researchers with easy access to a unique collection of fungi that cause plant diseases and wood decay The database will become available on the following website http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantpath/activities/labs-projects/myherb/. The collection at North Carolina State University was established in 1970 and represents the most comprehensive assemblage of wood decay fungi in the southeastern United States. Fungi were collected from diverse, often unique habitats, identified with geographic locations recorded, and preserved for use by educators and scientists.Internet access to this valuable collection and the baseline of data it establishes will benefit state and federal regulatory agencies concerned with the introduction of invasive species of fungi that harm humans and plants. The collection may also lead to the identification of fungi that can be used to convert wood into bio-fuels, improve soil health, and serve as indicators of climate change. In addition to its use by the scientific and regulatory community, the database will also be an important resource for educating and training high school biology teachers, students, and the general public about the importance of fungi to society and for understanding their distribution and biodiversity in unique ecosystems.