Database and Digitization of Regional Historical Herbaria: A Case Study of Margittai Collection in the Uzhhorod National University Herbarium (UU)

Abstract

The digitization of herbarium collections guarantees a preservation and long-term use of scientifically valuable objects, e.g., wide and convenient access to these materials online and exchange between institutions. These are also important elements in the education and popularization of botanical knowledge. No less significant is the practical aspect of these studies due to the danger of these collections’ destruction as a result of Russian aggression—some of them have already been destroyed. The analyzed Margittai collection (1500 specimens) is kept at the Uzhhorod National University Herbarium (UU) and belongs to the historical and regional ones. This material is valuable because of its scientific, historical and cultural significance. By the initiative and thanks to the efforts of Prof. S. Fodor, the studied collection (most of which are doublet specimens) was transferred in 1965 from the Hungarian Natural History Museum (BP), where the main herbarium of the researcher is preserved (40,000 specimens), to the Uzhhorod State University. Due to the fact that the collection has not been studied, in 2021, the authors began a special investigation of this collection and assessment of its current state. The structure of the database has been developed, it is being filled, and the digitization of type materials has begun.