Synergistic efforts in specimen digitisation, curation and cataloguing of Brazil's megadiverse flora and funga
Societal Impact Statement Digital technology has brought a rapid global information exchange, impacting all areas of our lives. This also applies to science. Knowledge, conservation and scientific innovation on global biodiversity are being strengthened and disseminated at unprecedented scales. Our study explores how botanists and bioinformaticians have accelerated the digitisation and cataloguing of Brazil's megadiverse flora and funga. Collaborative effort, advanced technological systems and sustained financial support are essential for achieving successful outcomes. Inventorying Brazilian biodiversity is an ongoing mission that demands the dedication of future generations. Summary Brazil has made significant progress in digitising and taxonomically curating millions of herbarium specimens and cataloguing its flora and funga species. Here, we report our experience on how the synergy among taxonomists and bioinformaticians is crucial in developing technologies to streamline these activities, positioning Brazilian institutions at the forefront of botanical documentation. Broadly used by 99 mostly Brazilian institutions, the Sistema de Gerenciamento de Coleções Botânicas do Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (JABOT) is a fully online platform to manage, digitise and curate botanical collections. The Herbário Virtual Reflora (HVR) gathers more than 4.7 million high‐resolution specimen images, enabling taxonomists to examine and annotate nomenclatural updates. Built on the collaborative effort of around 1000 taxonomists working remotely, the Flora e Funga do Brasil (FFB) serves as an official dictionary for plant and fungi names across JABOT, HVR and Brazilian government biodiversity platforms. The Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil (CPUCB) provides comprehensive species checklists for protected areas (PAs) in the country. By fully integrating these online systems, which are deeply rooted in physical herbarium collections, Brazil has established a truly robust foundation of digital collections for understanding and conserving its biodiversity.
Authors
- Thuane Bochorny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4278-4520)
- Fabiana Ranzato Filardi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0372-4325)
- Luís Alexandre Estevão da Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7464-922X)
- Domingos Cardoso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7072-2656)
- Felipe Alves de Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4011-3504)
- Rafaela Campostrini Forzza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7035-9313)
- Ana Flávia Alves Versiane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9634-0365)
- Rafael Oliveira Lima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5959-649X)
- Paula Leitman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2997-3784)
- Mariana Taniguchi
Institutions
- Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR)
- Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Plants People Planet
- Published
- 2025-04-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70021
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.25
Funders
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro