Protocol and survey data from: Building infrastructure for silica-preserved leaf tissue collections in herbaria
Data files
Mar 24, 2026 version files 29.79 MB
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README.md
1.85 KB
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Silica_Appendix1_tabular.csv
12 KB
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Silica_Appendix1.pdf
1.61 MB
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Silica_Appendix2.pdf
28.17 MB
Abstract
Herbaria are irreplaceable resources for plant research, containing spatiotemporally and phylogenetically diverse specimens and data that can be leveraged for a wide range of groundbreaking research. In addition to pressed plants, many herbaria also maintain silica-preserved plant tissue collections. Because these specimens preserve DNA and other compounds more readily, silica-dried plant tissue collections are an exciting avenue for herbaria to enable high quality, reproducible, and data-rich research across plant biology. However, while many botanists already collect voucher-associated silica-preserved tissue samples, there is a lack of guidance around the best tools and practices for curating them. We examined the scientific literature and solicited feedback from herbarium professionals to explore major considerations for building and managing silica-preserved tissue collections, especially in light of resource limitations faced by small and regional herbaria. We identify several considerations for establishing these collections, including physical storage options, organization systems, digital curation approaches, and terms-of-use agreements. While building the infrastructure for curating and publicizing these collections will require additional planning, coordination among institutions, and the frontloading of resources, we see silica-preserved tissue collections as a critical resource to both empower research and enhance the value of herbaria.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.z612jm6s3
Description of the data and file structure
Data to inform and find solutions for challenges to silica collection management/curation.
Files and variables
File: Silica_Appendix1.pdf
Description: Feedback from natural history museum professionals to understand how herbaria manage silica collections prior to this study. Survey was sent via a listserve to herbarium professionals to assess current (as of 2025) trends in silica collection management and curation. Anonymized responses were used to identify obstacles and best practices to managing and curating silica collections moving forward. Survey questions and responses summarized in PDF format.
File: Silica_Appendix1_tabular.csv
Description: Feedback from natural history museum professionals to understand how herbaria manage silica collections prior to this study. Survey was sent via a listserve to herbarium professionals to assess current (as of 2025) trends in silica collection management and curation. Anonymized responses were used to identify obstacles and best practices to managing and curating silica collections moving forward. Survey questions and responses summarized in a tabular long data format.
File: Silica_Appendix2.pdf
Description: Example protocol for managing and curating silica collections. This protocol was informed by responses to the survey (Appendix 1) and resources that are commonly available (or limited) at many natural history institutions. While resources will vary among institutions, small-regional herbaria may find this useful for developing protocols for establishing and managing silica collections.