Yes Gargji, I read this passage earlier and felt happier to know the impact of awareness created by our Indiantreepix.
On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 5:16 PM, J.M. Garg <[email protected]> wrote: > *Reproduced below some extracts relating to 'Indiantreepix' discussion > threads in Final Report of BSI/ZSI Task Forces:* > 4*)* *Collaborative knowledge generation* > > A few years ago, John Maynard Smith, one of the most distinguished > evolutionary biologists of twentieth century wrote an important book called > the ‘Major Transitions in Evolution’. He proposed that the saga of life on > earth may be visualized as involving a series of major transitions, with > organisms evolving capabilities of handling ever larger quantities of newer > and newer kinds of information. This is now culminating in the present day > Information and Communication Technology revolution that has brought us to > the threshold of yet another major transition, namely from *Language based > human societies –to- Human societies with global access to the entire stock > of human knowledge*, and engaged in an endeavour of *collaborative > knowledge generation*. *IT-savvy Indians have begun to take advantage of > such possibilities; for example, an excellent Indian attempt along these > lines is the Google e-group- Indiantreepix, devoted to creating awareness, > and helping in identification along with discussion on and documentation of > Indian Flora. **Here information is shared on a real time basis for the > benefit of all stakeholders, minimizing delays and hastening information > exchange. The group follows a multi-disciplinary approach with membership > from diverse background. Anyone interested is welcome to join this e-group > http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en and post photos of a > plant (along with place and date) for identification, discussion, and > sharing. Every species discussed gets included in the Indiantreepix > Database<http://indiantreepix.googlegroups.com/web/Indiantreepix+Database.xls>that > currently covers more than 2100 species. > * > > Naturally, taxonomists worldwide have begun to take advantage of these > possibilities, and developed a number of web-based applications such as > checklists, floras and faunas, and interactive identification keys. While > the information is universally accessible, editors and authors with > permissions can correct and update the data with the use of web forms, > permitting world wide, yet well regulated, collaboration. An effort of > particular interest to us is that of the Flora of China. This > collaboration has involved several hundred botanists and computer experts, > working in many different organizations worldwide and has made remarkable > progress, generating excellent information on many Indian plant species as > well. > > *Flora of China experience* > > Now, through the World Wide Web, botanists are able to instantaneously > provide checklists and floras to users worldwide and update them as the > taxonomies of the groups are revised and further data are gathered. Several > current flora projects provide online treatments: the *Flora of Australia > *(Orchard & Thompson, 1999–), *Flora* *Europaea *(Tutin & al., 1993–), *Flora > Zambesiaca *(Exell & Wild, 1960–), *Flora Mesoamericana *(Davidse & al., > 1994–), *Flora of China *(Wu & Raven, 1994–), and the *Flora of North > America *(Flora of North America Editorial Committee, 1993–). This > web-based program called *eFloras *(URL: http://www .efloras.org*/*) was > developed to enable access to online “electronic” floras. Through a web > interface to the data, users can browse online floristic treatments by > volume, family, and genus, and can search by name, distributional data, and > text. With the use of web forms, editors and authors with permissions can > correct and update the data of the *Flora of* *China Checklists*. > > Online checklists provide an invaluable source of plant names and > publication data at local, regional, and global scales. The *Flora of* *China > Checklist *is a database searchable via a web interface ( > URL:http://mobot.mobot.org/W3T/Search/FOC/ projsfoc.html) at Missouri > Botanical Garden. It is a systematic reference that will contain all of the > scientific names that have been published for China. The Checklist contains > all of the scientific names of species, combined with their distributions in > China (at the provincial level) and adjacent, bordering countries, the > elevations at which the plants grow, botanical synonyms, bibliographic > citations, and endemism. The scientific names are dynamically linked to > other available data, such as volume: page and illustrations in the *Flora > Reipublicae* *Popularis Sinicae *(FRPS) and FOC. > > The FOC Project verifies the original citation of each name, and records > the publication data according to recognized taxonomic standards. Many > collaborators on the FOC project, and other botanists, who do not have > access to all of the relevant literature, have found the checklist valuable > for their work. Verification provides scientists with reliable citation > information as to whether or not a name is validly published. It is > estimated that the checklist will contain a total of about 135,000 botanical > names, including synonyms. > > The *Flora of China *Web (URL: http://flora.huh.havard.edu/china/) > provides a regularly updated newsletter, introductory information, floristic > treatments (databased descriptions in HTML and PDF formats, and > illustrations), interactive keys for identification, botanical papers > pertaining to the FOC published in the journals *Novon*, *Annals of > Missouri Botanical* *Garden*, and *Harvard Papers in Botany*, related > searchable data (e.g., the FOC Checklist, the Hu Card Index), images, links > to the FOC illustrations, guidelines for contributors, and information on > editorial centers and the people involved in the Project. > > Web-based interactive identification keys such as DELTAINTKEY (Dallwitz, > 1980; Dallwitz & al., 1993–, 2002–); and ActKey (Brach & Song, 2005) present > a simple alternative to lengthy, indented or bracketed keys. An online > interface to interactive identification keys should enable users to select > easily observable and readily available characteristics to identify a > specimen. > > > > > > > *Cyber-Taxonomy for India* > > Much of the taxonomic work relies on the `printed literature’, and > protologues, most of which are often isolated from, and inaccessible to, > most taxonomists (especially for those in developing countries). Most of the > critical information needed for the taxonomic resolve is held up in old and > scattered type specimens, which again are not always easily accessible. > These difficulties have constrained the interactions among the taxonomic > workers across the world in general and in developing countries such as > India in particular. Thus taxonomic work is often isolated and or polarized, > consequent to which the spirit of global taxonomy, a feature that taxonomic > work demands, is lacking. Taxonomists have frequently identified this as a > limiting factor for their work. > > With the advent of new tools for compiling, processing and serving > information, several of the hurdles faced by the taxonomists, especially by > those in the developing countries, can be greatly overcome by the > establishment of a cyber-taxonomic space. Cyber-taxonomy is envisaged as a > web based single platform where all the taxonomists working in a group of > organisms can gain access to virtual *e-herbarium/ museum *that has all > the relevant images, data and information on specimens and literature > (*e-types, > e-data *and *e-library)*. This virtual herbarium/museum would facilitate > the global set of taxonomists working on that group to refer, interact, > agree or disagree upon the taxonomic issues as a unified working group so > that they can together arrive at a globally consensus list of > checklists, names and associated features which will be kept track of > continuously on the web. Making these details available in a single window > would also help non-taxonomists to keep track of the names and details of > the organisms so that the difficulties that are being faced at present can > be avoided. > > Such a facility is most immediately required for a country like India and > we should assume leadership in setting up a cybertaxonomic space for the > entire Asia given our IT strengths. To begin with, the efforts can be > initiated on specific groups or families with a plan to eventually integrate > them. BSI and ZSI can set the following specific objectives to begin with > for this purpose: > > 1. Establishment of required hardware, software and interactive > space for the cyber-taxonomic work. > > 2. Compilation and digitization of relevant datasets, type > specimen, other images, taxonomic text, protologues etc., to create > e*-*details > (*e-types, e-data and e-library*)*.* > > 3. Development of a *web-**version *of the checklist of species > and loading them with *e-*details on the web. > > 4. Capacity building among the taxonomists to use, and work on > the Cyber-taxonomic space. > > 5. Facilitate the taxonomic work on the web version of the > checklist. > > 6. Develop a system of updating the web-version of checklist and > the *e-*details regularly. > Education and outreach > > Many leading taxonomic institutions in the world such as Missouri Botanical > Garden and Smithsonian Institute have strong education and outreach > programmes and it would be appropriate that Botanical and Zoological > Surveys also promote such activities in a systematic and vigorous manner. > Another good model is our own National Remote Sensing Agency that conducts > many very well subscribed short term courses. The Botanical and Zoological > Surveys should organize short term courses in identification of specific > taxa (common ones like trees, birds and butterflies as well as rare taxa) > aimed at undergraduate and M Sc students, as well as practicing scientists > in other disciplines such as ecology. Such courses would also cater to the > needs of *District level centers of systematic biology *when these are > established*. **Botanical and Zoological Surveys should also establish > mechanisms for working with and encouraging members of groups like > ‘Indiantreepix’ so that they can share their experiences on flora of a > particular region with the Survey scientists. * > > -- > With regards, > J.M.Garg ([email protected]) > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 > 'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna' > Image Resource of more than a thousand species of Birds, Butterflies, > Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise): > http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J.M.Garg > For learning about Indian Flora, visit/ join Google e-group- Efloraofindia: > http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "efloraofindia" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<indiantreepix%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en. > -- Muthu Karthick, N Junior Research Fellow Care Earth Chennai www.careearthtrust.org -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en.
