21 st CENTURY FLORAS New technologies to speed the process

21st CENTURY FLORASNew technologies

to speed the process

Arthur D. [email protected]

Problems in beginning a new Flora

• Access to available names• Access to publications• Access to adequate collections• Access to ancillary information• Speed of the taxonomic process• Re-inventing the wheel• Size of the task

With thanks to George Shepherd


where are we now?

where are we going?

250 years of Endeavour

Using emerging technologies

• What emerging technologies?

• How are they being used?

• How can these be used to solve the problems of beginning a new Flora


• Internet• Computing

– Storage– Processing speeds

• GPS• Analysis Tools• Imagery

– Scanners– Digital Photography– Digital Video

• Digital Libraries• Presentation Tools

Changing TechnologyChanging Technologies

Internet

• New high-speed parallel networks– From gopher to grid

• Distributed systems – From Z39.50 to XML, SOAP

• Interactive Mapping– From Imap to ArcIMS, Mapserver

The Internet

From http://ces.asu.edu/bdi/Subjects/Xanthoria/

256 Mb USB

160 Gb USB/Firewire

20 Gb USB/Firewire

1 Gb smartcard

Computer StorageComputer Storage

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1971 1972 1978 1982 1985 1989 1993 1997 1999 2000 2002

MHz

P4

P4

P3

P2P1486

386286

80868008

4004

Chip DevelopmentChip Development

GPSGeocoding

• Manual coding

• Automated georeferencing

• GPS

Australian Bird AtlasAtlas of Australian Birds

From Atlas Newsletter No. 9, 2002

Changing Technologies






Type collections

INBIO Costa Rica

Type Collections

US National Herbarium

Type Collections

University of

Florida

Type Collections

With thanks to Barbara Thiers, NYBG

Digital Imagery Digital Imagery

Changing Technology






Video Imaging

Changing Technology






Digital LibrariesDigital Libraries

With thanks to Barbara Thiers, NYBG






• Presentation Tools

Flora of AustraliaFlora of Australia

Using emereging technologies

• Access to available names


Using emereging technologies

• Access to available names– Catalogue of names (authority files)– Distributed access



• Access to publications



• Access to publications– Digital libraries– Scanning



• Access to adequate collections



• Access to adequate collections– Virtual Herbaria– DiGIR



• Access to ancillary information



• Access to ancillary information– Flora Braziliensis revisited– Digital libraries



• Speed of the taxonomic process



• Speed of the taxonomic process– Databases– Protologues– Types– Electronic publications

• Names, check lists, floras, etc.

– Working smarter– Sharing data, pooling descriptions



• Re-inventing the wheel– Other floras and electronic floras

• Flora of Australia/XML

– Distributed systems– Species Plantarum?– Utilising the resources



• Size of the task



• Size of the task– What type of Flora?

– Who wants a Flora anyway?

– Electronic Flora

– Check lists, guide books

– What are the priorities

– Australian experience

– Orchids – are they really plants?

– 250 years of taxonomic endeavour


If Linnaeus was starting today

would he do things the same way?

Working Smarter

The future –

• Linking distributed information– A distributed flora?

• Searching interactively

• ‘on demand’ Floras

• Up-to-date information

• Quicker, more efficient taxonomy

Working Smarter

Working Smarter

Taxonomic process– Searching for names– Searching for original descriptions– Searching for recent revisions– Searching for specimens/types– Creating a character set– Writing descriptions– Publishing

Working Smarter

How can we improve efficiency

Writing Floras– Gathering information from revisions– Re-keying information– Re-checking specimens– Geo-referencing– Checking other treatises, floras, etc.– Writing up– Mapping– Illustrating– Publishing– Data validation tools

Working Smarter

LUCID

Working Smarter

A fantasy

• Person in field with a GPS and satellite link• Upload location• Download key and descriptions• Type in vegetation type – use interactive keys• Upload photograph or video• Get identification – or notification of possible new species• New description, photograph, etc. on spot added to

database – perhaps with code rather than formal name.• Information is immediately to other researchers and

taxonomists.

Questions?

Arthur D. Chapman

[email protected]

21 st CENTURY FLORAS New technologies to speed the process

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