Small Collections Grant
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The value of MEN Herbarium collections in teaching and understanding the diversity of Mendoza plants, Argentina.
Iris Edith Peralta
Argentina
Database, Process backlog, Conserve, Other
Cost: $
2000
MEN
Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza
Objective:
Mendoza Herbarium, MEN in Index Herbarriorum, was founded in 1940 by Guillermo Covas, is the oldest in the province and belongs to Agricultural Botany of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Argentina. Since its origins, MEN's objectives were focussed on education, research and conservation of Flora of Mendoza and Argentina valuable collections, including approximately 40.000 specimens mainly of vascular plants.
Objetives for IAPT grant:
1. Collection improvements: specimen mounting, digitalization and data base advancement.
2. Student education in plant systemat
Plan:
MEN collections are of great importance for teaching plant diversity in local communities and at different educational levels. Students from different careers of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences attend every year to Botany and Plant Diversity courses, and as part of the teaching process, they collaborate with MEN to improve the Herbarium collection´s. One of the main objectives is to create enthusiasm for botanical studies among students, who can understand better our plant richness working with MEN specimen’s.
MEN preserves valuable collections of western Argentina Flora, build up by important botanists and former professors: Adrián Ruiz Leal, Fidel Antonio Roig, José Ambrosetti, and Eduardo Méndez. Lichen specimens collected in Antarctica by Ruiz Leal in 1950, and high mountain plants are examples of unique plants.
It is important to highlight that MEN belong to the Argentinean Herbarium Network (RedHAr) sharing common interest, knowledge and methodologies to improve collection digitalization and specimen´s databases. In 2019, a collaboration with Darwinion Herbarium (SI) was initiated to include MEN specimen information in the same database system.
In order to accomplish the first two objectives, four advanced students will collaborate in MEN during 4 month (10 hours per week). The curator and co-curators will supervise student activities with special collections (6.000 specimens).
Regarding the third objective, students will also participate in the project Flora and
Timetable:
Month Activities description
March Field studies in the Andes piedemont: collection of representative species in different habitats. Project Flora and Vegetation of Chacras de Coria.
April Specimen mounting, digitalization and data base advance (1.500 specimens).
May Specimen mounting, digitalization and data base advance (1.500 specimens).
June Specimen mounting, digitalization and data base advance (1.500 specimens).
August Specimen mounting, digitalization and data base advance (1.500 specimens).
September Field studies in the Andes piedemont: collection of representative species in different habitats. Project Flora and Vegetation of Chacras de Coria.
October Data Analysis.
November Report.
December Final Seminar
Referee 1:
Fernando Zuloaga
Referee 2:
Richard Olmstead
Scoring Rubric
Your name:
Collection Improvement/Maintenance
1. Contribution to the generation of digital herbarium data (digitization: data entry, setting up database structure, purchasing equipment).
2. Contribution to enhancing our understanding of the flora by making new herbarium specimens available (processing of backlog).
3. Contribution to enhancing our understanding of the flora by making new herbarium specimens available (shipping endangered collection to another herbarium).
4. Contribution towards improving conservation status of specimens in herbarium (better folders, protecting covers, mounting paper, labeling, etc.).
This proposal scores:
/120
IAPT community building
5. Herbarium's potential for success.
6. Perceived need, extent to which the project will benefit from IAPT funding.
7. Sharing specimens with other herbaria.
This proposal scores:
/40
Broader Impacts
8. The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites).
9. The proposed project involves outreach/mentoring and broad dissemination.
This proposal scores:
/40
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Proposal number: