australia’s virtual herbarium
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Australia’s Virtual Herbarium. Unlocking Australia’s plant biodiversity Information. Australia’s Virtual Herbarium. Australia’s biodiversity is at risk from inappropriate land management practices and historical ignorance of the implications . - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Australia’s Australia’s Virtual HerbariumVirtual Herbarium
Unlocking Australia’s Unlocking Australia’s plant biodiversity Informationplant biodiversity Information
Australia’s biodiversity is at risk from inappropriate land management practices and historical ignorance of the implications.
We know a lot about what not to do, but redressing the damage, and managing better for the future, requires sound information about our biodiversity - what was here, and where it lived.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Information on plant identity and location is derived from herbarium specimen records.
These records are the building blocks for plant taxonomy and classification.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Australia’s Virtual Herbarium will provide access to the combined information on each individual herbarium specimen in Australia’s major herbaria.
The internet will provide quicker and easier access and use, and wider availability.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
The AVH is unique and a world first
Access is being made progressively available on the Internet.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
The AVH is a collaborative project of the State, Commonwealth and Territory herbaria.
It is being developed under the auspices of the Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH), representing the major Australian herbarium collections.
Each herbarium retains custodianship and is responsible for management of its own data as part of the national distributed database.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Contribution of specimen data by major herbarium
Applications and benefits include:
• easy and quick access to authoritative plant information;• mapping geographic distribution of plants; • location and mapping of rare and threatened species;• historical and baseline information for revegetation
programs;• assist with selection of suitable and adequate
conservation reserves;• better informed environmental planning;
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Potential users include:• farmers • Landcare groups • revegetation groups • Greening Australia• natural resource managers• government agencies • local government• indigenous communities• schools and educational institutions• mining industry
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Case Study
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
1907
In 1999, the Harden Murrumburrah Landcare Group approached the Australian National Herbarium for help with revegetating their land with the original native plants of the region.
With only 2.8 percent of the original native vegetation remaining from widespread landclearing in the Harden Shire, landholders had to largely guess what once grew there.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Herbarium records were searched to compile a list of all the plants collected from the Harden region since 1770.
The records also provided information on soils and associated species. Local landholders and those with specialised knowledge then added to this pool of data, eg how to propagate and where to plant them.
This data is available through the web to the Landcare group to plan their revegetation work.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
A critical first step in building the AVH is to capture and load the information contained in Australia’s six million herbarium specimens in a standard format within the next five years
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
The databasing task - 3.3 million specimens
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments agreed in 2001 to contribute $7,830,000 on the basis that a further $2,000,000 would be raised from the private sector over the next five years to complete the project.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
The AVH Trust was established in late 2001 to coordinate the fund raising for this project.
This task is calculated to cost $10 million.
The AVH Trust is registered and donations are tax-deductible.
Environment Australia is acting as the agent for receipt and disbursement of funds, both Commonwealth and private sector, to the individual herbaria on advice and agreement from CHAH.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Trust Virtual Herbarium Trust
• a collaborative national project supported by the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments and involving many of Australia’s leading scientific institutions;
• an ethical and ‘green’ initiative;• internationally innovative technology - a world-first;• encouraging discovery and understanding of the plant
world;• unlocking Australia’s plant biodiversity information for all
users
Supporting the AVH Trust offers the opportunity to participate in:
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Trust Virtual Herbarium Trust
Private financial supporters will be acknowledged appropriately on the AVH website and in any other promotional or educational material about the AVH.
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Trust Virtual Herbarium Trust
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Trust Virtual Herbarium Trust
Trustees:
Peter Cochrane, Director of National Parks, Environment Australia (Chair)Margaret Ross, Chair John T Reid Charitable TrustIan Blackburne, Chair Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney TrustAllan Holmes, Chief Executive, Department for Environment and Heritage, South AustraliaExecutive Officer: Helen Halliday, Environment Australia
Herbaria associated with the AVH are located in every capital city of Australia.To arrange an inspection to discover more about their relevance to conservation and land management please contact the relevant Director:
Australia’sAustralia’s Virtual Herbarium Virtual Herbarium
City
Adelaide
Brisbane
Canberra
Darwin
Hobart
Melbourne
Perth
Sydney
Director
Dr Laurie Haegi
Dr Gordon Guymer
Dr Judy West
Dr Greg Leach
Dr Gintaras Kantvilas
Professor Jim Ross
Dr Neville Marchant
Dr Tim Entwisle
Phone
08 8222 9326
07 3896 9325
02 6246 5113
08 8922 0809
03 6226 2635
03 9252 2300
08 9334 0500
02 9231 8113
Australia’s Australia’s Virtual HerbariumVirtual Herbarium
Unlocking Australia’s Unlocking Australia’s plant biodiversity Informationplant biodiversity Information