Small Collections Grant
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Post-earthquake conservation of neglected bryophyte collection within ZAHO herbarium (Zagreb, Croatia) through databasing and digitization
Croatia
Database, Digitally image, Conserve
Cost (USD):
2000
ZAHO
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science
Objective:
Balkan Peninsula is one of the 25 most important biodiversity hotspots but still largely understudied. Balkan bryophytes are poorly known, and SE Europe is least investigated area. Out of 57 Balkan herbaria, only few keep bryophytes, with negligibly small number of digitized specimens. ZAHO collection that holds 4,730 bryophyte specimens collected throughout Balkans, has been affected by severe earthquakes in 2020. The project objective is to conserve the specimens by databasing and digitizing and revealing this bryophyte collection from Balkan Peninsula to bryological scientific community.
Timetable:
The project will start in April 2022 and finish until December 2022. The potential employee on the project will be chosen among interested biology students with some prior knowledge in systematic botany and nomenclature in order to facilitate accurate workflow. As the work will be done by a student, a maximal 20 hours per week is proposed. The workload will be divided in two parts from April to June 2022 and September to December 2020, in compliance with both the student’s semester activities and herbarium staff responsibilities during vegetation season (July-August 2022).
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.
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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.
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Curating specimens (e.g., updating families, species identification, identifying types) – up to 20 points.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The project will yield durable benefits (specimens, digitized metadata, databases, websites) – up to 15 points.
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The project involves outreach/mentoring and broad dissemination – up to 15 points.
This proposal scores:
/40
Year of last successful SCG application:
Has applicant applied for SCG before?:
Plan:
The systematization and digitization of ZAHO collection have started in 2014, however involving only vascular plants. The process is carried out through a national botanical database Flora Croatica Database (https://hirc.botanic.hr/fcd). All processed specimens are directly linked to the virtual Herbarium Croaticum (http://herbariumcroaticum.biol.pmf.hr). The digitization includes transcription of metadata from the herbarium label, georeferencing of the collecting localities and digital imaging using the upside-down A3 scanner. The grant will be used for employing a biology student to accelerate digitization efforts. The work on digitization pipeline will include: 1) nomenclature revision of specimens, 2) data management (transcribing the labels, georeferencing localities, storing metadata into the database), 3) scanning the specimens. As an added project value, we plan to publish digitized specimens in GBIF database thus providing visibility and enhancing usage of the collection. The project outcome will include: 1) several thousands of digitized herbarium specimens stored in three freely accessible databases with all metadata and images, 2) the involved biology student receiving training in specimen preparation, digitization procedure and collections care. Finally, digitization will ensure a permanent conservation of metadata, in the context of its vulnerability to recent and potential future earthquake hazards.
Institution:
IH Code:
Country:
Target areas:
Applicant First Name/s:
email:
"Other" target:
Vedran Šegota
Applicant Last Name/s: