The Singapore ginger (Zingiber singapurense, left) is an example of a type specimen that has been digitised in the Singapore Botanic Gardens Herbarium. - PHOTO: NPARKS
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): A Singapore-based digital database of 800,000 plants from South-east Asia and elsewhere will be ready by around 2027 for researchers, students and plant enthusiasts across the world to study and access.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens will be building the database on top of its current digital collection of around 10,000 local specimens, which is called the Singapore Herbarium Online.
Work on the wider database is slated to begin in early 2025 and conclude in around two years’ time. The 800,000 specimens come from regions including South-east Asia, New Guinea, East Asia and the South-west Pacific.
The database will be the largest of its kind in South-east Asia to date, and people from around the world can access it.
The initiative was announced on Aug 6 at the 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress, which is held for the first time in South-east Asia.
“Not only will the integrated database make it easier for researchers to undertake botanical studies, but (it will) also help preserve botanical history, and facilitate global knowledge sharing and collaborations,” said Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and National Development Tan Kiat How. He spoke at the opening ceremony of the congress.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens Herbarium currently houses the 800,000 preserved plant specimens within the Gardens. In 2003 and 2013, the herbarium digitised about 10,000 local type specimens.
A type specimen is a preserved specimen designated as the primary reference for a newly described species, genus, or other taxonomic group.
The digital database will give the public access to high-resolution images of 2D plant specimens and a searchable database categorised by plant name, country, date and taxonomic information.
Commending the initiative, Dr Shawn Lum, a senior lecturer at Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment, said: “Digitalising a collection allows anyone, from anywhere, to study plant specimens and to learn about biodiversity, land-use change, ecology and even history.”
“The process will make the priceless collection accessible; it will protect the specimens as they can be studied without being handled, and it will enhance and promote the study of plant diversity,” he added.
Researchers who want to access the herbarium’s plant collection for examination in person have to make arrangements to visit before travelling there to conduct their work.
Dr Lum added that the digitalisation project could not happen at a more critical time, as there are fewer people around to teach plant diversity in local universities and schools.
The next few decades may be Singapore’s last realistic chance to document, study and protect the world’s last great pockets of biodiversity.
While the Asean region makes up only 3 per cent of the world’s total land area, it is home to over 25 per cent of known plant and animal species in the world.
Another initiative announced at the congress was the launch of a collaborative network of botanic gardens across South-east Asia.
Formed together with the South-east Asia Botanic Gardens Network and Botanic Gardens Conservation International, the South-east Asia Plant Phenology Network aims to monitor and collect long-term phenology data on specific tree species to help researchers in the region better understand how these plants respond to environmental changes.
Phenology is the study of how environmental factors influence the timing of biological events, such as leaf growth, flowering and fruit production in plants.
Long-term data collection on tropical plants across South-east Asia will be shared among the members of the network, enabling researchers in the region to study how climate change affects plant life cycles.
Dr Lum said there has been concern raised by some researchers that climate change may hinder the general flowering phenomenon, the regeneration of our forests and the productivity of valuable crops and fruit harvests.
Lauding the launch of the regional network, the botanist added: “To adequately answer this important question, the monitoring of flowering at a regional scale must be done. The proposed phenology network could not have happened at a better time.”
Ten botanic gardens, including those from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, China and Singapore, have expressed interest in joining the network.
The Global Botanic Gardens Congress, which takes place every three to four years, brings together experts, researchers and practitioners from around the world to share knowledge, best practices and innovations in plant conservation, education and research.
The 2024 edition is taking place at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre from Aug 6 to 9, held concurrently with the Singapore Garden Festival. Around 900 delegates from 73 countries are expected to attend. - The Straits Times/ANN
