Bryophyte Checklist of SYKO Herbarium

Study Extent

Bryophytes subdivision of SYKO is divided into two collections: mosses and liverworts. The digitizing of liverworts label data was not a priority. However, some occurrences of liverworts were added in dataset as a result of its simultaneous keeping in one specimen packet with mosses. The labels of liverworts collection are planned to be digitized in the near future. According to SYKO bryophytes subdivision register (maintained manually since 1969) there were 58,184 specimens (45,198 mosses and 12,986 liverworts) at the beginning of August 2020. The label data of 42,698 unique moss samples (94 percent of moss collection) were digitized to the date. There was 1,697 moss storage units with duplicates which are also stored in the main collection and serve for exchange with other institutions. The duplicates weren't used for the described occurrence dataset preparation. The collection of mosses is characterized by the presence of from 1 to 9 species in one specimen (1.2 on average). Some portion of digitized labels were excluded from the described dataset. This 2,754 labels were used for updating of dataset “Moss occurrences in Yugyd Va National Park, Subpolar and Northern Urals, European North-East Russia” published earlier. The images for 3,452 published earlier occurrences were added in field “associatedMedia” for the Yugyd Va dataset.

Sampling

Bryophyte herbarium samples were collected during two main types of field work: floristic explorations and vegetation studies. Field samples are separated into storage specimens during the species identification in a way that in each specimen was a minimum number of bryophyte species. Two label copies are generated for each sample. One copy of the label was fixed on a bag with a dried moss sample, the second was stored in a separate storage for labels (library card catalog cabinet is used). The labels and the moss specimens themselves were arranged in alphabetical order of species names. Each moss sample was assigned a catalog number. The catalog numbers were incrementing since the organization of the bryophyte subdivision in the SYKO herbarium. Information about the label catalog number, date of collection, name of the collection place, species name, field number, and habitat were entered in the register books. The labels from label storage were used for digitization. The label images were obtained with digital camera. Images were uploaded to server and their filenames to the label database. The database web interface written specifically for this project was used for manual label data recognition and interpretation. The following minimum set of data were deciphered (in DarwinCore terms): scientificName, recordedBy, identifiedBy, day, month, year, catalogNumber, decimalLatitude, decimalLongitude. The digitization of most moss collection labels showed that names of 139 collectors were on the labels and 38 botanists were engaged in species identification. The most productive collector and botanist most engaged in species identification was one person — G. V. Zheleznova.

Quality Control

Species identification. The species were identified by bryologists from the Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The correctness of species identification and confirmation for many taxa was carried out by well-known taxonomy specialists: Shljakov R.N. (378 identifications), Abramova A.L. (246 identifications), Savich L.I. (110 identifications),    Ignatov M.S. (58 identifications), Afonina O.M. (52 identifications), Ignatova E.A. (49 identifications), Chernjadeva I.V. (16 identifications), Smirnova Z.N. (15 identifications), Fedosov    V.Je. (11 identifications), Abramov I.I. (10 identifications) and Maksimov A.I. (2 identifications). Some moss samples were sent for critical review to other herbaria. For example, the specimens with genera Pohlia Hedw., Stereodon (Brid.) Mitt., Hypnum Hedw., Cratoneuron (Sull.) Spruce, Hygrohypnum Lindb., Tortella (Müll.Hal.) Limpr., Pseudoleskeella Ignatov & Ignatova were sent to the Komarov Botanical Institute herbarium (LE), Grimmia Hedw., Schistidium Bruch & Schimp., Philonotis Brid., Bryum Hedw., Bucklandiella Roiv., Polytrichum Hedw., Lescuraea Bruch & Schimp., Sciuro-hypnum (Hampe) Hampe to The Tsytsin Main Moscow Botanical Garden of Academy of Sciences herbarium (MHA), genera Encalypta Hedw., Seligeria Bruch & Schimp. to the herbarium of Moscow University (MW).

Method steps

1. The checklist was prepared after generation of occurrence dataset SYKO Herbarium Moss Collection (https://doi.org/10.15468/yjdjs4) with SQL query.

The dataset consists of 480 moss taxa with rank of species, subspecies, varieties and 325 occurrences of 59 liverworts taxa of the same ranks. The moss species names used were determined according to the ‘Check-list of mosses of East Europe and North Asia’ (Ignatov et al. 2006), and ‘An annotated checklist of bryophytes of Europe, Macaronesia and Cyprus’ (Hodgetts et al. 2020).

1. Bryophyta
   common name: Mosses rank: phylum
2. Marchantiophyta
   common name: Liverworts

Most of the dataset records originated from samples collected on the territory of European North-East Russia. Only one occurrence was located far from this region on the Kamchatka Peninsula (55.72222ºN, 160.3714ºE).