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Assessing current curation, identification and digitisation practices in herbaria: Results from a global survey

Celia C. Aceae,Robyn Drinkwater,Haley Gladitsch,E. Haston

Published 2025 in Plants, People, Planet

ABSTRACT

The value of herbarium specimens depends largely on the accuracy and accessibility of the data captured, which is dependent on curation practices. Previous studies have shown high levels of misidentification in collections, which become more problematic with increased access. To evaluate variations in curation practices and assess the impacts of these differences, a survey was sent to herbarium curators worldwide. The results revealed substantial variation in curation, identification and digitisation practices. This study examines how increasing support for herbaria, standardising curation and enhancing information pathways are crucial to improving the accuracy and accessibility of data essential to addressing environmental challenges. This research aimed to assess the current practices and standards in place within institutions of different sizes around the world, in order to develop more effective methods in curation, specimen identification and digitisation. A detailed survey was created and sent to herbaria around the world. The survey comprised five parts: (1) general herbarium framework, (2) curation and collections, (3) specimens without determinations, (4) digitisation and (5) scenario question. The results were analysed based on collection size. The survey results showed that there are many differences among herbaria of varying sizes when comparing curation methods and standards, identification methods and tools, and digitisation efforts. This study found that herbaria require the development of consistent curation practices that adhere to global standards both within and among institutions. To maximise the value of collections, herbaria require both shared resources (tools) and individual resources (funding, time and staff) to provide accurate specimen identification and ongoing curation. Digitisation can support identification and improve access to biodiversity data, but only if these data are shared and regularly synchronised with widely accessible databases.

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