Collecting Data

Global Positioning System

 

It is vital that collectors keep comprehensive records about the locality and the sampling, as this information may be requested at any point during the life of the seed collection. The exact location of the collection is obtained with Global Postitioning System hand-held units, but in addition teams record directions to re-find the locality, together with a range of ecological and sampling data. This includes dominant plant species at the locality, soil type, slope, and land-use. Any features of the herbarium specimen that could be lost on pressing, such as flower colour and shape, is also carefully recorded to assist in the identification of the target plant.

Collectors record comprehensive field data in the field, either on paper or electronic forms.

Most field data is written on paper forms and transferred to institutional databases when seed and herbarium specimens are brought back to base. A growing number of teams are using electronic notebooks to capture data in the field in a format compatible with collection databases.

Next: Care after harvest