Collection Management in Lichenology

Collection Management in Lichenology: Principles, Practices, and Categories

Scientific collections of lichens—housed in herbaria, fungaria, and culture collections—form the foundational infrastructure for taxonomic, ecological, molecular, and conservation studies. Effective collection management in lichenology ensures the long-term preservation, accessibility, and scientific utility of specimens. It also supports compliance with international regulations and promotes the responsible sharing of biodiversity data.

1. Core Functions of Collection Management

Collection management encompasses a wide range of curatorial tasks, which can be broadly categorized as follows:

a. Acquisition and Documentation

• Collection of specimens from the field following ethical and legal protocols (e.g., permits, Nagoya Protocol).
  
  

• Accurate recording of metadata: locality, substrate, elevation, host, collector, date, ecology.
  
  

• Assignment of accession numbers and integration into institutional catalogs or databases.
  
  

b. Preservation and Storage

• Drying and pressing of thalli using appropriate materials.
  
  

• Storage in acid-free packets or envelopes with archival labels.
  
  

• Use of climate-controlled cabinets to prevent degradation by humidity, insects, and mold.
  
  

• Inclusion of type specimens, reference material, and exsiccatae.
  
  

c. Digitization and Informatics

• Scanning of specimens and labels for virtual herbaria.
  
  

• Integration into global databases such as GBIF, Index Herbariorum, MyCoPortal, and JACQ.
  
  

• Linking specimen records to molecular data (e.g., GenBank), publications, and images.
  
  

d. Loan and Exchange Services

• Coordinating specimen loans to researchers and institutions.
  
  

• Organizing duplicate exchanges to strengthen inter-institutional networks.
  
  

• Maintaining detailed loan records and return policies.
  
  

e. Inventory and Risk Management

• Regular audits to detect losses or pest infestations.
  
  

• Preventive conservation protocols (e.g., freezing new specimens to eliminate insects).
  
  

• Emergency response plans (e.g., fire, flood, infestation).
  
  

2. Categories of Lichenological Collections

Scientific collections may vary based on their purpose, preservation methods, and research applications:

Collection Type

Description

General Herbarium

Houses dried, curated specimens of lichens with metadata; organized taxonomically or geographically.

Type Collection

Includes holotypes, isotypes, and syntypes crucial for taxonomic authority.

Fungarium

A broader term for fungal collections, which may include lichen-forming fungi and isolated mycobionts.

Photographic Archive

High-resolution images of specimens, often accompanying types or rare materials.

Culture Collection

Stores axenic cultures of mycobionts or photobionts for physiological, genomic, or ecological studies.

DNA Bank

Preserved genomic DNA linked to voucher specimens; supports molecular phylogenetics.

Exsiccatae

Published sets of curated specimens distributed to multiple herbaria.

3. Best Practices and International Standards

• Label Standardization: Use of Latin names with author citations, location coordinates (WGS84), elevation, habitat details.
  
  

• Collection Codes: In accordance with the Index Herbariorum.
  
  

• Pest Control: Quarantine procedures, regular inspection, and environmental monitoring.
  
  

• Ethics & Legal Compliance: Adhering to access and benefit-sharing (ABS) frameworks, especially under the Nagoya Protocol.
  
  

• Curatorial Software: Use of systems such as Specify, BRAHMS, Symbiota, and Arctos for digitization and data sharing.
  
  

Collection management in lichenology is not a passive archival task but an active, evolving practice integrating conservation science, digital infrastructure, and global collaboration. Curated collections are essential not only for species discovery and documentation but also for training future generations of lichenologists, supporting biodiversity policies, and ensuring that valuable specimens remain scientifically relevant for centuries to come.