Living plant collections policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History

Leena Myllys,Henry Väre,Outi Pakkanen,Pertti Pehkonen,Marko-Tapio Hyvärinen,Anniina Kuusijärvi,Merja Pulkkinen,Björn Kröger,Pasi Sihvonen,Aino Anttila,Markku Oinonen,Mikael Lindholm,Aino Juslén,Mari Miranto,Leif Schulman,Heli Fitzgerald,Mikko Heikkinen

doi:10.3897/rio.6.e60450

Abstract

The collections policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus is hierarchically structured. The general collections policy defines the overall principles and guidelines. The sub-collections policies, such as the Living collections policy, comply with and apply the general collections policy and specify its guidelines and instructions, taking the special nature of the sub-collections into account. The living plant collections policy guides the care of the collections in the botanic gardens and the seed bank, excluding DNA and tissue samples which are covered by a separate genomic resources policy. The purpose of the collections policy is to help guide the care of the garden collections and the processing of information relating to the collections, thereby providing the basis for developing the botanic gardens.

Highlights

Living plants and fungi (‘lichen garden’) are part of the Luomus national natural history collections, as referred to in the Universities Act (2009)
The maintenance of the collections contributes to the implementation of the Luomus mission of being responsible “for the preservation, accumulation and exhibition of the national natural history collections and for research and education relating to them”
The implementation of the collections policy is the responsibility of the Horticulture Team as well as the Vascular Plants Team, the Mycology and Bryology Team, which are responsible for research data about the botanical and mycological collections

Summary

Status and implementation of the living plant collections policy

Living plants and fungi (‘lichen garden’) are part of the Luomus national natural history collections, as referred to in the Universities Act (2009). The term ‘collection’ (in the narrow sense) refers to the plants and fungi (lichen garden) included in the collections of the Kumpula and Kaisaniemi botanic gardens as well as the wild plant seed bank. Spontaneously occurring wild plants can be added to the collection and documented in the collection management system It is appropriate from the perspective of collection care to include the immediate organic and inorganic environment of plants and fungi in the Kumpula and Kaisaniemi collections (collection in the broad sense). The collections promote knowledge of the world’s plant and fungi species, understanding of the evolution of species, and appreciation for biodiversity They are part of a global network of natural science collections, which constitutes a key resource for biodiversity research and is part of the infrastructure shared by the national and international research communities that has been built over centuries and must be preserved for future generations. Practical responsibilities for the care of the collections and the supervision of work are agreed by the Horticulture Team, and this division of responsibilities is documented in the guidelines for the care of the collections, such as care manuals

Principles for collection acquisitions

Receipt and accessioning of plants

Collection management

Collection maintenance

Disposal of plant accessions

Use and availability of collections