Digitisation / Cataloguing of non-textual objects: Development of new digitization standards for the large-scale assessment of leaf venation traits from herbarium collections using microradiographic imaging

草本植物以其大量的现代和历史植物标本记录了历史时期的环境变化，因此越来越多地被用作研究中的环境档案。根据最近的研究，叶脉已被证明是环境条件的替代指标，其中次脉的结构尤为重要。然而，传统的叶脉制备方法依赖于化学处理，破坏性大且耗时长，不适合功能生态学研究中所需的大系列叶片样品的分析。因此，该项目的目的是开发一种叶脉序特征数字化的标准，使从标本标本中快速、非破坏性、基本上自动化地评估叶脉特征成为可能。显微放射成像最近被证明是一种很有前途的技术，将被用于本研究的目的并进行优化。数字化数据将通过在线收集数据库SESAM(包括GBIF-LINK)。此外，脉序数据将与Try数据库相链接，Try数据库是世界上最大的功能植物特性储存库。

Herbaria with their large collections of recent and historical plant specimens document environmental changes over historical periods and are therefore increasingly used as environmental archives in research. According to recent studies, leaf venation has proven useful as a proxy for environmental conditions, with the architecture of the minor venation being especially important. However, traditional methods for the preparation of leaf venation rely on chemical treatment, which is destructive and time-consuming and therefore not suitable for the analysis of large series of leaf samples as required in functional ecological research. Thus, the aim of the project is to develop a standard for the digitization of leaf venation traits that permits a rapid, non-destructive, largely automated assessment of leaf venation traits from herbarium specimens. Microradiographic imaging has recently been shown to be a promising technique that will be used and optimized for the purpose of this study. The digitized data will be made available to the public via the online collection database SeSam (incl. GBIF-link). Moreover, the venation data will be linked to the TRY database, which is the world’s largest repository for functional plant traits.