Alabama's Biodiversity Heritage: Expanding and Promoting Access and Use of a Regional Important Botanical Collection

特洛伊大学植物标本馆拥有超过46，000种植物标本，使其成为亚拉巴马最大和更多样化的收藏之一。它特别丰富的标本来自东海湾沿海平原生态区，这是美国的顶级生物多样性热点，被认为濒临灭绝。 植物标本馆是一个不可替代的植物多样性知识库，记录了过去和现在的植物。 该项目将保护和缓解标本过度拥挤的状况。 它将改善标本的获取并使之现代化，并允许更广泛地向研究人员、教育工作者、学生和公众传播标本所传达的信息。 这些成果将促进基础科学和应用科学的研究，如保护生物学、农业和资源管理。 教育项目将通过研讨会使学生和教育工作者受益，研讨会的重点是如何利用新资源来提高对生物多样性研究的兴趣。 这个NSF资助的项目将提供一个移动的存储系统和植物标本柜，这将允许扩大和增长的特洛伊植物标本馆。 具体活动包括（1）安装新的植物标本室和一个移动的存储系统;（2）购置新的数字化设备;（3）管理10，000多个遗产标本;（4）通过讲习班和数字资源吸引亚拉巴马东南部的教师和学生。 新的成像设备将被用于对46，000个有担保的标本和10，000多个遗留标本进行检索和改进，这些标本将通过亚拉巴马植物地图集提供，并与包括iDigBio（idigbio.org）和全球生物多样性信息设施（GBIF）在内的国家和国际资源共享。 非维管植物标本将通过北美苔藓植物标本馆门户网站和北美地衣标本馆门户网站提供。 作为该项目的一部分，将进行重组和命名更新，以便利查阅和保护收藏品，供今后使用。 亚拉巴马科学运动（ASIM）和亚拉巴马数学、科学和技术倡议（AMSTI）的植物鉴定、分类和标本馆程序暑期讲习班将为小学和中学教师提供所需的培训。 策展人作为教师和学生使用iNaturalist的导师，将为社区提供持久的外展服务。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Troy University Herbarium houses more than 46,000 plant specimens, making it one of the largest and more diverse collections in Alabama. It is especially rich in specimens from the East Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion, a top biodiversity hotspot in the United States and considered endangered. The herbarium is an irreplaceable repository of botanical diversity that documents the occurrence of plants both past and present. This project will secure and alleviate overcrowding of specimens. It will improve and modernize access to specimens and allow for wider dissemination of the information they convey to researchers, educators, students, and the general public. The outcomes will facilitate research in basic and applied sciences, such as conservation biology, agriculture, and resource management. Educational programs will benefit students and educators through workshops focused on how the new resources can be used to increase interest in biodiversity research. This NSF-funded project will provide a mobile storage system and herbarium cabinets, which will allow for expansion and growth of the TROY Herbarium. Specific activities include (1) installation of new herbarium cases and a mobile storage system; (2) acquisition of new digitization equipment; (3) curation of over 10,000 legacy specimens; and (4) engaging teachers and students in southeast Alabama through workshops and digital resources. New imaging equipment will be used to digitize and improve accessibility for 46,000 vouchered specimens and more than 10,000 legacy specimens that will be available via the Alabama Plant Atlas and shared with national and international resources including iDigBio (idigbio.org) and the Global Biodiversity Information Faciilty (GBIF). Non-vascular plant specimens will be made available through the North American Bryophyte Herbarium portal and the North American Lichen Herbarium portal. As part of the project, reorganization and nomenclatural updates will be made to facilitate access and secure the collection for future use. Summer workshops on plant identification, classification and herbarium procedures for Alabama Science in Motion (ASIM) and the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) will provide needed training for elementary and secondary teachers. Curators, serving as mentors for teachers and students using iNaturalist, will provide lasting outreach to the community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.