Jerusalem. More than 1.1 billion natural history objects from 73 major natural history museums and herbariums from 28 countries have been compiled into a huge global database.
Created by an international team of scientists and museum staff, it will help researchers and decision makers find solutions to the global challenges of conserving endangered wildlife, the climate crisis, food insecurity and to preparation for epidemics, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which participated in the project, said in a statement.
Remains of fauna and flora
The inventory, described in a new article published in the journal Science, It includes diverse collections of animal and plant remains of all kinds, along with archaeological and geological findings.
The project organizers subdivided the huge total collection by creating a unique shared vocabulary by collection types and their areas of geographic origin.
The result is a network of 19 collection types across 16 geographic regions, meaning that any collectible from anywhere in the world will fit into only one of the 304 consequent categories.
The researchers hope the digital database will catalyze collection-based collaborative efforts to support future global sustainability, biodiversity, and climate frameworks.
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