An Australian Virtual Herbarium

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An Australian Virtual Herbarium

• Jim Croft

Australian National Herbarium
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Panel

• HISCOM members
• AD - Bill Barker
• BRI - Peter Bostock
• CANB - Greg Whitbread
• DNA - Anne Fuchs
• HO -
• MEL - Marco Duretto, Paul Cholodniuk
• NSW - Barry Conn
• PERTH - Alex Chapman

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This Presentation

• Description of an AVH
• Need for an AVH
• Preparedness for a AVH
• Options for an AVH

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AVH - Keywords

• Herbarium
• Collections of botanical specimens
• Sources of botanical knowledge and expertise
• Sources of botanical information

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AVH - Keywords

• Virtual
• Appearing as
• Computer dependent
• Graphic, visual
• High Tech
• On-line

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AVH - Keywords

• Australian
• Implies national in coverage and view
• States and territories
• Government, educational
• Distributed

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Name Options

• Australian Virtual Herbarium
• Australian Herbarium Virtuality
• Virtual Herbarium of Australia
• Virtual Australian Herbarium

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What is an AVH like?

• Conceptual parallels in the
• Australian National Rare and Endangered Plant
  Collection
• Australian National Fungi Collection
• Australian National Plant Collection

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Foci of the AVH

• Past (and current) foci
• data
• database design
• technology
• networks
• Focus for an AVH
• Information

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Why do we need an AVH?

• Increasing expectations and demands on herbaria
• Increasing costs of using duplicated data
• Decreasing staff resources for herbaria
• Gaps in individual data coverage
• Competition from other sources
• Demonstrable relevance of herbaria

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Cost of Specimen Data

• Excluding computing herbarium support
• 4 (- 5) per collection
• c. 2 data entry
• c. 2 geocode calculation/verification
• Each duplicate redone by recipients
• Maybe 4 - 6 duplicates per collection
• 6 million herbarium specimens in Australia
• Less than 50 databased

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Costs of Other Data

• Each herbarium maintains census
• Each herbarium maintains taxonomy
• Each taxonomist maintains a taxonomy
• ? 5-6 x duplication of effort
• (Total curation costs 25-50 / specimen)

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Australian Herbarium Collections

• Herbaria completely databased
• BRI - 600 k
• QRS - 100 k
• DNA - 170 k
• PERTH - 400 k

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Australian Herbarium Collections

• Herbaria partially databased
• AD - 800 k (13 )
• CANB - 900 k (45 )
• HO - 350 k (20 )
• MEL - 1 M (6 )
• NSW - 900 k (25)

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Australian Herbarium Collections

• Summary estimates from State Herbaria
• November 1996
• c. 5.3 million collections
• c. 2.2 million databased
• c. 42 databased

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Australian Herbarium Collections

• c. 12 M to complete the job!
• c. 1.5 M if we share the task!
• Divided views in the past
• High priority - do it now
• Collect more - do it later

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Benefits of an AVH

• Shared and common data
• Common standards
• Common authority files
• Shared data entry and curation
• Access to a larger database
• Access to larger body of expertise

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Where have we come from?

• Printed books, articles
• Ledgers and cards (60s)
• Simple databases (70s)
• Complex databases (80s/90s)
• Network connection (90s)
• Exchange of and sharing data (90s)

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Are we ready for an AVH?

• Computerized collections data
• Compatible database design
• Common data standards
• Agreed data interchange format (HISPID)
• Increased technical understanding
• Common purpose
• Goodwill

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Elements of an AVH

• Plant name information
• Specimen information
• Observational information
• Taxon information
• Mapping and distributional information
• Expanding botanical knowledge
• Dissemination of knowledge
• Linking with other programs

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Plant name information
• Nomenclatural
• Taxonomic
• Systematic
• Typification
• Bibliographic
• Common names

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Specimen information
• Collections information
• Transactions (accessions, loans)
• Taxonomically authenticated point locality
  information
• Images
• live material, morphological, anatomical

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Observational information
• Surveys
• Sightings
• Anecdotal reports

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Taxon information
• Descriptive
• Monographs, revisions, Floras, etc.
• Images
• live material, morphological, anatomical
• Expert Identification systems
• Intkey, Lucid, Meka, etc.

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Mapping and distributional information
• checklists, censuses
• Electronic gazetteers
• GIS output
• Modeling
• Predictive output

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Expanding botanical knowledge
• phylogenetic analysis
• genetic studies
• taxonomic research

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Dissemination of knowledge
• Basic data
• Derived information
• Published floras
• Educational information
• Biological information systems

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Linking with other programs
• Regional biodiversity, environmental, resource
  surveys
• State and Territory surveys
• Local Surveys

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Linking with other programs (cont.)
• National biodiversity, environmental, resource
  surveys
• ABRS
• TSCS (ESU)
• NHT (Landcare, RFA, CRA, etc.)
• ERIN
• NRIC

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Linking with other programs (cont.)
• International projects
• Plant Names Project
• IOPI
• Species 2000
• NSF/ASC collections projects
• World Bank / GEF
• Data repatriation

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Elements of an AVH (cont.)

• Tools and Technology
• Network Connectivity Internet, WWW
• Database functionality
• Applications

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Can we build an AVH?

• We have the technology
• We have the ability
• We have the data
• We have the protocols and standards
• Do we have the will?

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Where to start?

• We are exchanging data
• Taxonomic and census data
• Specimen data
• Build a virtual type herbarium?
• ?

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Principles for an AVH

• Shared
• Collaborative
• Distributed
• Dynamic
• Accessible
• Authoritative
• Strategic and proactive
• Relevant

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