State and prospects of using the scientific potential of the bryological collection of the LWS herbarium

The article substantiates the significance of the scientific potential of the bryological collection of the LWS herbarium of the State Natural History Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine as a source оf practical scientific research. The main criteria for an integral expert assessment of the natural history museum collection are presented, including the characteristics of the collection itself, as well as the results of the attribution of its components. The significant achievements of the main collectors-scientists, who have worked on unique museum collections of bryophytes at different times, were analyzed. The assessment of the collection for the preservation of natural heritage, the prospects of its further use for conducting scientific research, as well as the possibility of its long-term storage and replenishment in order to increase the taxonomic and geographical representativeness of bryophytes is given. The experience of digitization of collection herbarium bryological materials is presented, which has become an important factor for reliable recording of this information and optimization of the process of further scientific processing of collections.