Small Collections Grant

The Herbarium of Niterói (NIT) is under the care of one curator, one technician and two students. The expansion of our collection is severely hindered due to insufficient equipment for fresh specimen preparation and limited cabinet space. Roughly one quarter of our storage space is occupied by specimens that were brought from the field over the last few years and were not entirely incorporated into the collection due to a lack of adequate materials. Once we improve our stock with the basic materials for processing, mounting and storing specimens while producing archival quality labels, we can increase eficiency of new entries and backlog specimen processing in the collection. This process also includes inserting specimen data in our online database (nit.jbrj.gov.br), which allows our staff to mass print standardized labels.
Since it is located in a tropical region, our herbarium needs to cope with high temperature and relative humidity values and fluctuations. The Fluminense Federal University, to which NIT is subordinate, has provided the collection room with air conditioning and dehumidifying equipments. These, we fear, will not suffice to prevent specimen deterioration in the long term, since insulation flaws combined with occasional power outages could create favorable conditions for pests to attack. By carefully using bug repellent chemicals, while still implementing quarantine and decontamination procedures, we can ensure that our preserved specimens will be safe.