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Small Collections Grant

This page is used to provide assessment scores for each  grant application assigned to you. Please use the rubric below the grant details to enter your assessment scores and any notes you wish to include.
Please note that all scores entered must be whole numbers (no decimals), or you will be unable to save this form.

Digitization of Liberian Herbarium Specimens

adeyinka.adepoju.phd@gmail.com

Liberia

Digitally image, Other

Cost (USD): 

2000

AHL

African Methodist Episcopal University

Objective:

The main aim of this work is to document digital images of herbarium specimens in Liberia for accessible identification data and voucher information. In order to achieve this, the specific objectives are:
i. To replace damaged herbarium specimens at the AMEU Herbarium of Liberia, and
ii. To produce clear digital images of the AMEU and FTI the herbaria, organizing them for easy global access and utilization by users worldwide.

Timetable:

# TASK DATE RANGE
a Isolation of damaged herbarium specimens 1st-5th April, 2025
b Replacement of damaged specimens 7th-30th April
c Construction of imaging box and other platforms 6thApril
d Training of Herbarium Assistants (students) 1st-15th May
e Taxonomy update 16th-30th May
f Setting up and calibration of imaging gadgets in the imaging room 18th-19th May
g Specimen positioning, image capturing and file naming 20th May-6th Dec.
h Data entry 7th -27th Dec
i Data sharing 28th-31st Dec
TOTAL DAYS 274

Scoring Rubric

Reviewer's name:

Collection Improvement (max. 120 points)

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  • Facilitating access to the physical collections by digitization (e.g., data entry, setting up database structure with an outline of the platform to be used, purchasing equipment, and imaging specimens) – up to 30 points.

  • Enhancing physical collections by improving the conservation status of specimens in the herbarium (e.g., better folders, protecting covers, mounting paper, labeling, etc.) – up to 30 points.

  • Curating specimens (e.g., updating families, species identification, identifying types) – up to 20 points.

  • Increasing our understanding of the flora or funga by making new herbarium specimens available, such as processing of backlog or collecting and mounting of new specimens from understudied sites – up to 20 points.

  • Securing collections by distribution of duplicates (or orphan collections) to other regional or international herbaria or shipping endangered collections to another herbarium – up to 20 points.

This proposal scores:

/120

Methods & Funding (max. 40 points)

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  • Match between the proposed budget and methods for the aims described – up to 10 points.

  • Perceived need, the extent to which the project will benefit from IAPT funding: e.g., due to active floristic work or contribution to poorly collected sites, due to threatened conditions of collections, and for the degree of involvement of others (outreach and education). We give more points for herbaria in low- and middle-income countries – up to 20 points.

  • Sharing duplicate specimens with other herbaria – up to 10 points.

This proposal scores:

/40

Broader Impacts (max. 40 points)

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  • Degree of regional importance of the collection or the taxonomic importance of the targeted collection – up to 10 points.

  • The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites) – up to 15 points.

  • The project involves outreach/mentoring and broad dissemination – up to 15 points.

This proposal scores:

/40

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Year of last successful SCG application:

Has applicant applied for SCG before?:

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Plan:

In order to achieve the aim of this work, this herbarium specimen digitization project will be carried out following standard procedures:
A. Update of taxonomic information: This initial step will be taken to confirm the information on all specimens to ensure that they are correct based on the latest taxonomic information available in literature.
B. Replacement of damaged specimens: All damaged plant specimens will be isolated and replaced with new ones using standard herbarium techniques.
C. Training of herbarium assistants: The curator intends to train students of the Biology Department, AME University on the procedures of digitization. The students are expected to be able to carry out the procedures with little or no supervision after the training.
D. Gadget set up: The gadgets and capturing room will be set up, including the construction and setting of capturing boxes, cameras and other important materials. Calibration of the Canon EOS Rebel T3i DSLR Camera 18MP APS-C CMOS Sensor digital camera and test capturing will be carried out to determine the most suitable positioning for best quality images. E. Capturing: Images will be captured.
F. Data entry and storage: Information present on the labels of the specimens will be entered and stored.
G. Online presentation: Images and their corresponding data will be presented to repositories such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and iDigBio’s specimen portal to make them more widely accessible.

Institution:

IH Code:

Country:

Target areas:

Applicant First Name/s:

email:

Replace damaged specimens

"Other" target:

Adeyinka Adepoju

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Applicant Last Name/s:

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