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How to Use Field Note Books
by M.D. Crisp & D.J. Cummings, January, 1977
(Updated by A.M. Lyne, September, 1996)
Table of Contents
Aims
Data collected without a specific purpose in mind is usually wasted.
Hence before we consider what data should be collected during routine
field work we must examine our aims.
The herbarium sheet carries all the data from the field collection.
It also carries the original plant specimen; hence it is the ultimate
reference point for all associated data, and for all purposes.
Herbarium specimens service a variety of purposes. These may be summarised
conveniently in three categories:
Service to Taxonomy
The value of ecological data in practical taxonomy (i.e. describing
and naming taxa) seems to be played down by most authors. However, there
is no doubt that the majority of contemporary taxonomists do use ecological
evidence in making decisions about taxa. This is strongly implied by Heywood
(1973):
"It is a tenet of present-day taxonomy that species and sub-species are
intended to be population units. ... For the general taxonomist a population
is any group of individuals considered together at any time because of
features they have in common. This tends to mean in practice a group of
plants growing together which look similar, or a series of groups as they
occur over a particular area or region."
In other words, a taxon is defined on both the morphological similarity
and commonness of distribution of its individuals.
A common distribution implies a similarity of ecological factors within
the population. From genetic and evolutionary theory, this must be so
i.e. a population will not remain a population if the ecological factors,
and therefore the selection pressures towards evolution, vary significantly
within it.
Service to Ecology
The important role of taxonomy in providing names of the plants with
which ecologists deal is obvious. The potential role of the herbarium
specimen in providing data for ecological research is less obvious but
also important. In a recent submission to ABRSIC the Ecological Society
of Australia (per R.W. Johnson) made this quite clear:
Service to Horticulture
In the Australian National Botanic Gardens
the herbarium specimen and the living plant are so closely linked that
it is logical to use the existing (or any future) information system to
pass on ecological data from the field to the horticulturist. Such information
is essential in determining the requirements of the living plants at all
stages from propagation in the nursery to siting in the Gardens.
Criteria
Several considerations limit the types of data to be collected.
Simplicity
The data categories must be simple enough to be understood by people with
no ecological training.
Computerisation
The data must be reducible to numbers for computerisation. This requires
a strict classification of data and simple, logical terminology.
Interpretation
The data must be interpretable in themselves i.e. by reference to the
herbarium sheet alone. This is because they will be used by outsiders
to the Herbarium.
These considerations mean that we must adopt standard systems of ecological
description with relatively simple and concise terminology. I shall
now proceed to outline the proposed systems, to list the terminology,
and to define the terms where necessary.
This system is intended to be all-inclusive. All descriptive terms which
you will need should be in these notes. You must therefore attempt to express
all your data in these terms and no others. If the particular situation
is so unique that it is not covered by these notes, then you should describe
it in the set categories to whatever extent you can using the given terms,
and elaborate its peculiarities in the "Notes" section.
Data
Some Important Points in Data Gathering
I am proposing two levels (sometimes three) of detail for the data in
most categories viz. a general and specific level. If you are unable
to recognise the specific type then the general will suffice. If you are
in any way uncertain of the specific category then you should record the
general type only. This is most important - you must not give a misleading
impression of the accuracy in your data. Always go from the general to
the specific when you record data.
Example:
"Substrate : Rock, sandstone."
Rock is a general substrate type; sandstone is specific within that
type.
In general you should aim to collect data on the immediate environment
of the plant i.e. data which cannot be obtained from a map at a later
date. The reason for this should be obvious. The principal exceptions
are altitude, which is very important, and landscape, which places topography
in its context.
Example:
"Topography : Hilly terrain with deep gullies and sharp crests."
is poor because this information would be apparent from a map, and tells
you nothing of the immediate environment of the plant. A better description
is "Topography : Hills, steep slope in gully."
Your field book should have only one entry per heading. Each entry should
be expressed as a series of phrases, separated by commas, with a full-stop
at the end of the entry. Each phase should correspond to one level of
the general-to-specific sequence. This may seem pedantic, but reduces
verbage and make interpretation of the data easier for somebody else.
Example:
Location: c. 50km NW from Griffith, Fred's Lagoon, 0.5km along W bank
from S end.
Always use a soft pencil (HB or F) for field recording.
All measurements must be metric.
What to Record
For those who do not have one of our field note books, here
is one of the pages.
One Page Per Collection
Each page of your field book should be used for a single collection;
no more, no less. A single collection is defined as material taken from
one plant on a particular day. Thus an herbarium specimen, cuttings, and
seeds, all taken from the same tree on 27 August 1976, comprise a single
collection. A further specimen taken from the same tree a week later does
not belong to that single collection, and must be treated separately.
There are two exceptions to this rule. Very small plants, especially annual
herbs, do not provide enough material for an herbarium specimen, let alone
propagating material. In such a case several plants from a single localised
population are regarded as a single collection. Whole-plant transplants
may also be grouped with a voucher from another plant as a single collection.
Registration Number
The space after the heading CBG is for the registration number of the
specimen. This number is not to be entered in the book during the field
trip, but will be added later when the field book is registered.
Name
Four levels are provided for recording the name and taxonomic position
of the specimen viz. Group, Family, Field name and Determined name. The
first three of these categories are to be recorded as far as possible
in the field.
- Group
The higher order taxonomic level to which the specimen belongs.
The higher order taxonomic groups are here.
- Family
Every flora handbook and every herbarium differs slightly in its
family concepts. Therefore you should familiarise yourself with this
institution's concepts and usage. The herbarium card index lists the
families of genera in our collection, and many which are not.
- Field name
Enter the botanical name of the specimen, as far is known.
- Determined name
The Determined name is determined by the botanist in the herbarium,
and is not to be recorded in the field, even by a botanist.
State and District
The state in which the collection is made should be indicated by one
of the standard symbols:
W - Western Australia
D - Northern Territory
S - South Australia
Q - Queensland
N - New South Wales (including Jervis Bay)
CAN - Australian Capital Territory
V - Victoria
T - Tasmania
I, N or T - Oceanic Islands
Each state has been divided into a number of districts for the purpose
of field work planning and simplifying locality descriptions. The districts
are based upon those already used by herbaria in their respective states.
Districts have been defined according to convenience of access combined
with geographic and ecological uniformity. A large master map in the herbarium
shows the district boundaries in detail, and is your primary source of
reference.
A listing of state botanical districts is here
In your field book you should indicate the district by the standard
two letters (lower case), as indicated in the above linked document.
Locality (LOC)
The precise collecting locality must be recorded, preferably to the
nearest 1/10th kilometer (km), or at the worst the nearest lkm, from a
precise and well-known map-point. If the place is remote, its relationship
to a better-known place should be given. Map names are acceptable, local
names are not. Suitable reference points are post-offices (usually at
the centres of towns or cities), trig-points, road crossings or junctions
and river or stream junctions.
If your distance measurement is a road kilometerage you must use the
words "x km from A along rd to B". If the distance is measured in a straight
line, not along roads, the direction, preferably as a bearing in degrees(0)
from true north, must be stated. For accuracy, avoid distances of more
than 20km. Always follow a general-to-particular sequence.
Use only metric measurements.
Some abbreviations are acceptable by virtue of being well-known and
unambiguous, and are listed below. All others are either poorly known
or may be confused. Words not to be abbreviated are also listed below.
Examples:
Stirling Range, 1.3 km 154° from Ellen Peak.
Budawang Range, Endrick River, 2.5 km upstream from junction with
Shoalhaven River, left bank.
15.4 km from Braidwood along road to Nerriga. (It is assumed that
the distance was measured from Braidwood P.O.).
c. 60km NNW from Balranald, 8km from Bidura h.s. along rd to Wampo
Stn.
Acceptable Abbreviations:
km - Kilometre(s)
c. or ca. - Approximately (circa)
rd - Road
Hwy - Highway
Rly - Railway
Rly Stn - Railway Station
Stn - Station (grazing property)
h.s. - Homestead, head station
P.O. - Post Office
Mt(s) - Mountain(s), mount
Ck - Creek
Is. - Island
Penin. - Peninsula
Words not to be abbreviated:
Range, River
Park, Peak
Port, Point
Cape
State Forest
Junction
Lake
Waterhole
Latitude (Lat.) and Longitude (Long.):
Herbaria express localities in latitude and longitude coordinates as
well as descriptively. This enables people unfamiliar with the region
to place the locality on a small-scale map. It also allows more direct
comparisons between localities.
Give coordinates to the nearest second (if you used a GPS (global positioning
system) unit) or to the nearest minute (if you did not use a GPS unit).
They can be obtained from a GPS unit or by pinpointing the locality on
a map with 1 : 250,000 scale or better, and measuring the coordinates
from the map margins. All latitudes in Australia are in degrees and minutes
s (i.e. S of the equator) and all longitudes in degrees and minutes E
(i.e. E of Greenwich).
Example:
Lat.: 35° 26' 43''S Long.: 135° 17' 29''E
Altitude
Give altitude in metres (m). Precision should preferably be to the nearest
10 m, but in very mountainous country the nearest 50 m will do. For near-coastal
situations, it may be necessary to go to the nearest 1 m. Altitude can
be estimated from good topographic maps with contours. Do not record the
altitude reading given by a GPS unit - they are invariably erroneous.
Topography
Details of topography recorded when collecting plants gives botanists,
ecologists and horticulturists a general insight into the ecosystem to
which the plant is adapted.
There are three levels of detail necessary to adequately record topography
- Landscape, Landform and Position on Landform.
- Landscape
This is a description of general topography of a region; it can
be determined from a map but it is useful to enter it in the field
to place specific topography in context.
- Coastline - Land adjacent to the sea
- Plain - Level land of low altitude
- Undulating land - Rolling land with slopes up to 8 degrees
- Hills - Slopes in range 8 to 20 degrees
- Mountains - Higher and generally steeper than hills
- Plateaux - Elevated plains
- Landform
This is a description of the more localised features of an area.
It is expressed by type (a noun) and in most cases a qualifier (an
adjective or descriptive phrase). The qualifier can nominate magnitude
or simply add further description. Magnitude should be specified
as often as possible, e.g. size for depressions and rises; degrees
of slope; size of river; etc. Further descriptive qualifiers should
be added as required, e.g. eroded slope, rocky outcrop, isolated
hill.
Landform varies considerably and is not easy to categorise; however,
the following set of terms when used with qualifiers should give
adequate coverage for our needs.
The following listing of landforms is also available here
- Depressions - Valley, gorge, gully, crevice, depression, gilgai,
sinkhole.
- Rises - Peak, rise, ridge, spur, mesa, butte, knoll, volcanic
plug, hill, outcrop, dunefield, mine dumps, artificial fill areas,
roadside embankment, railway embankment, channel embankment.
- Slopes - Escarpment, cliff, scree, alluvial fan,slope - when
specifying slopes indicate the degree of rise, viz:
(Descriptive qualifiers can be added as well, e.g. steep rocky
slope).
- Artificial slopes - roadside cutting, railway cutting.
- Flats - Desert, hardpan, pavement, floodplain, riverflat, river
terrace, creek flat.
- Waterways - River, stream, creek, braided stream, spring, channel.
- Waterbodies - Lake, lagoon, billabong, swamp, marsh, bog, seepage
area, reservoir.
- Coastal -
Bay, cove, inlet.
Island
Tidal channel, tidal flat
Estuary
Coastal cliff, coastal hill
Coastal dune, coastal foredune, coastal strand, headland.
Position on Landform
Gives the specific location of the specimen and is a further qualifier.
Examples:
100m up 200m vertical cliff
edge of stream
upper steep slope
mid point of steep spur
Aspect
The direction in which any piece of land is sloping gives valuable
information on micro-climatic conditions on that slope - especially
in relation to the amount of sunlight received. Aspect should therefore
be specified to the nearest 45 degrees, i.e. N, NE, E, SE, S, SW,
W and NW.
Substrate
Substrate is that medium in which a plant is fixed. In most cases
it will be soil but can also be rock, mud, host organism, water or
artificial material.
- Rock
The type of rock underlying an area will have a significant
influence on the general environment of that area. For example,
the occurrence of resistant granite to the W of Canberra has resulted
in the formation of the Brindabellas, and the basalt flows of
the Western District of Victoria have produced vast plains with
highly fertile soils. Thus, the recording of rock type will give
useful information on land characteristics and enable the building
up of a complete picture of plant environment.
Rock type should be recorded in as much detail as the collector
feels competent to give. The following table is also available
here.
Rock types
----------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| Volcanic - Basalt, Dacite, Trachyte, Rhyolite |
| |
| Igneous ------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| Plutonic - Granite, Granodiorite, Diorite, Syentite |
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| Sedimentary Conglomerate, Breccia, Sandstone |
| Mudstone, Shale, Limestone |
| |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| Massive - Quartzite, Marble, Hornfels |
| |
| Metamorphic ------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| Foliated - Slate, Gneiss, Schist |
| |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The specific type should not be given if the collector is not
confident of identification, although it is acceptable to put
basalt-like, partly metamorphosed sandstone and so on. Consulting
a geologic map (located in the herbarium) either before or after
a field trip is good for assisting or confirming field identification.
- Soil
Reliable information on the characteristics of a soil in which
a certain plant is growing is essential for successful propagation
and cultivation of that plant. It is a little difficult to collect,
as soil morphology and soil classification are complex. A further
difficulty to the plant collector is that most of the soil is
underground and difficult to study. Therefore most of the data
collected will pertain only to the surface soil, although, not
to be disheartened, the information available from surface soil
characteristics will often be sufficient to aid propagation and
planting out.
The following table gives a relatively simple method of describing
the surface soil when collecting plants. By choosing a word or
phrase from each column a description of the soil can be built
up.
The following table is also available here.
Soil types
------------------------------------------------------------------
| Multiple Structure Colour Texture |
| miscellaneous |
|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Skeletal Well Red Sand |
| structured |
| |
| Stony Black Sandy loam |
| |
| |
| Gravelly Moderate Mottled Loam |
| structured |
| |
| Shallow Pale Clay loam |
| < 30cm |
| |
| Deep Poorly Etc. Silt |
| > 30cm |
| |
| Littered Clay |
| |
| |
| Heavily Or alternatively |
| littered |
| |
| Cracking Organic soil |
| |
| |
| Mud |
| |
| |
| Lateritic soil |
| |
| |
| Soil |
------------------------------------------------------------------
Examples:
For rainforest soil - deeply littered, well-structured black loam.
For soil behind the Herbarium at the ANBG - stony, moderate-structured
pale-brown clay-loam.
The rock of the area can and should be mentioned in this description
by adding a suffix phrase; e.g.
... on graniodiorite
... on mudstone
Definitions
Skeletal soil - One dominated by skeleton of parent rock.
Stony and shallow.
Soil structure - Describes the manner in which soil particles
are assembled in aggregate form. A well-structured soil is friable
and well-drained with obvious peds. A poorly-structured soil is
tough and poorly-drained without obvious peds.
Organic soil - Soil dominated by organic matter (20%).
A fluffy, loose and very light soil.
Mud - Accumulation of fine soil particles in a wet situation
such as a swamp, stream bottom or river estuary.
Ped - Naturally cohering unit of soil.
Host Organism
Parasite - Record type of host and position on host. Give
details of host's substrate.
Epiphyte - Record whether aerial or terrestrial. Record type
of host and position on host. Give details of host's substrate.
Water Environment
Inland aquatic - Submerged plants fixed to bottom of stream
or lake. Record type of surface to which attached i.e. mud, sand or
rock. Record rate of movement of water and degree of salinity.
Marine - Submerged plants, attached below high water mark.
Record type of surface to which attached.
Free floating - Record whether at or below surface, inland
aquatic or marine. Record rate of movement of water and degree of
salinity.
Artificial Environment
Record type of surface, e.g. -brick wall, fence post, mine dump,
concrete, etc.
Abundance
Abundance is an expression of the commonness or otherwise of a population
(or species) in the vegetation in which it is found. In your field
book, it is the abundance of the population which your specimen represents
which you must record.
Abundance is not a simple concept, and many measurements have been
devised to represent it. Some are density (or number), frequency,
cover, volume and weight. Weight (or biomass) is the most generally
accepted, and volume is a fair approximation to it.
You should estimate the abundance of the population from which your
specimen is taken from its weight or volume, by taking careful account
of the following points.
- Abundance must be estimated as a relative term in relation to
the layer of the vegetation in which the plant occurs. Thus the
abundance of a tree species is relative to that of the other tree
species, that of a shrub species to that of the other shrub species,
etc.
- Many species do not have random or regular distributions, but
are clumped in varying degrees. If clumping is apparent in the population,
you must record the fact (see terminology below).
Random Clumped Regular Strongly
clumped
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
| * * * | | * ** *| |* * * * * * | | *** **|
| * | | * * * **| |* * * * * * | |***** ***|
| * | | * * | |* * * * * * | |**** **|
| | | | |* * * * * * | |** *|
| * | | * * | |* * * * * * | | ** |
| * | | * ** | |* * * * * * | | **** |
------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
A B C D
Four types of population dispersion in a community.
A - Random dispersion (note its apparent irregularity)
B - Clumped or contagious distribution.
C - Regular or negatively contagious distribution.
D - Combination of strong clumping of individuals into colonies
and regular distribution of the colonies as wholes.
Species which are clumped usually appear to be less abundant
than they really are. Take this into account and make your judgments
carefully.
- Bias may occur when a species is either more or less conspicuous
than the rest of the vegetation. For example, a broad-leaved tree
with large bright flowers in full bloom will look far more common
than it really is. Conversely, a leafless diffuse scrambler will
be all but invisible, even if it is very common. Again, use your
judgement carefully to avoid bias.
Terminology
Abundance - dominant, common, frequent, occasional, rare.
(Note that a dominant species is one of the most abundant
2 or 3 in its layer).
Clumping (if present) can be in -
- small, medium, large, or extensive clumps or in,
- clumps or strong clumps.
Examples:
Dominant in strong, extensive clumps.
Rare.
Frequent in clumps.
Vegetation
Two variables are to be recorded, namely structure and dominants.
- Structure
Structure is determined from the life-form, height and density
of the tallest stratum or level in the vegetation. Australian
structural types are defined and named in the table below, taken
from Specht (1970).
The following table can also be found here.
Structural forms of vegetation in Australia
______________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| | Projective foliage cover of tallest stratum |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Life form and | Dense | Mid-dense | Sparse | Very sparse |
| height of | (70 - 100%) | (30 - 70%) | (10 - 30%) | (<10%) |
| tallest | crowns | crowns | up to 1 crown | > 1 crown |
| stratum | interfacing | touching | separation | separation |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Trees > 30m | Tall closed | Tall open | Tall | Tall open |
| | forest | forest | woodland | woodland |
| | | | | |
| Trees 10-30m | Closed | Open | Woodland | Open |
| | forest | forest | | woodland |
| | | | | |
| Trees 5-10m | Low closed | Low open | Low | Low open |
| | forest | forest | woodland | woodland |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Shrubs 2-8m | Tall dense | Tall mid-dense| Tall | Tall open |
| | shrubland | shrubland | shrubland | shrubland |
| | | | | |
| or | - | Mid-dense | Mallee | Open |
| | | mallee | | mallee |
| | | | | |
| Shrubs 0-2m | Dense | Mid-dense | Shrubland | Open |
| | shrubland | shrubland | | shrubland |
| | | | | |
| or | Closed heath | Open heath | - | - |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Hummock | - | - | Hummock | Open hummock |
| grasses 0-2m | | | grassland | grassland |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
| | | | | |
| Herbs | Closed | Herbland | Open | - |
| | herbland | | herbland | |
| | | | | |
| (mosses, ferns| Closed | Tussock | Open tussock | - |
| grasses, forbs| tussock | grassland | grassland | |
| sedges, etc.) | grassland | | | |
| | | | | |
| | Closed | Grassland | Open | - |
| | grassland | | grassland | |
| | | | | |
| | Closed | Herbfield | Open | - |
| | herbfield | | herbfield | |
| | | | | |
| | Closed | Sedgeland | Open | - |
| | sedgeland | | sedgeland | |
| | | | | |
| | Closed | Fernland | Open | - |
| | fernland | | fernland | |
| | | | | |
| | Closed | Mossland | Open | - |
| | mossland | | mossland | |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
Notes on the table
- Isolated emergent trees may project from the canopy Of some
communities. In some cases closed-forests, emergent Araucaria,
Acacia or species may be so frequent that the resultant
structural form may be better classified as an open-forest.
Many so-called "wet sclerophyll forests" fall into this category.
- Similarly, scattered trees and shrubs may be regarded as emergents
in predominantly grassland, heath or shrubland formations ("very
sparse" column).
- The distinction, or lack of it, between trees and shrubs is
discussed under Habit.
Disturbed vegetation
Much of Australia's vegetation has been altered from its original
state, even to the extent of being completely replaced by new
vegetation. If you recognise the type of disturbance, describe
it in your field book by using one of the following terms as a
prefix to the structural term.
General terms -
Regenerating after a disturbance (name the type of disturbance).
Secondary (means vegetation permanently altered from
its original state e.g. shrubland converted to secondary grassland
by sheep grazing).
Specific terms -
Logged, grazed, overgrazed, burned, recently burned, cleared,
partly cleared, wind-thrown, inundated, diseased (name disease
or insect if possible), droughted.
Artificial vegetation - (always in an artificial landform)
Crop, planted forest, parkland, garden(s), lawn, weed community.
The "dominant" species of these vegetation types should be named
just as for natural vegetation, if possible.
- Dominants
One or two dominants in the tallest, and perhaps one or two
from the principal lower, stratum should be named. Great care
must be taken in selecting the dominants. Often the most conspicuous
species is not the most common (and therefore dominant) but may
appear so.
You will observe that the traditional descriptive terms such
as "dry sclerophyll forest", "wet sclerophyll forest", "rainforest",
etc. do not appear in this scheme. They are unsuitable for formal
vegetation description because they indicate little about the
detailed structure of the community. They also make unnecessary
and misleading implications about the moisture relations of the
community. In general you should avoid describing the moisture
conditions. It is very difficult to subjectively make an accurate
assessment of them in the field. In any case they can be assessed
reasonably knowing the rainfall (from a map) and the other habitat
factors.
Habit
When describing habit you should indicate growth form with a qualifier
and size. Describe only those features which cannot be seen on the
herbarium specimen, or are distorted by pressing.
The following list is also available here.
Growth Form
- Tree - a tree is a woody plant, usually with less than 3 stems
and more than 5m tall.
- Shrub - a shrub is a woody plant, usually with more than l stem
and less than 8m tall. A shrub usually has its principal branching
point at or near soil-level.
- Mallee - a eucalypt with many (often tall) branches arising from
a massive underground stem or lignotuber.
- Sub-shrub - shrub-like but the stems are herbaceous in their upper
parts, and die back away during adverse conditions. Sub-shrubs are
usually decumbent or procumbent but may be erect e.g. Haloragis.
They often have tufted stems and a lignotuber-like root-stock e.g.
Daimpiera.
- Herb - no woody tissue present.
- Fern - any pteridophyte.
- Parasite - a terrestrial parasite is a tree or shrub or herb.
An aerial one requires mention of the word parasite for clarity
as the terms 'shrub' etc. are inappropriate.
- Vine or liana (liane) - a climber rooted in the ground.
- Grass, sedge, rush, graminoid - these may be qualified by 'tussock-'
or 'tufted'.
- Arborescent shrub/grass/herb, bamboo.
- Rosette tree - unbranched stem with crown of leaves, e.g. palms,
cycads, Xanthorrhoea, tree ferns.
- Rosette shrub - e.g. Dianella.
- Stem-succulent shrub - rare, e.g. Sarcostemma, Opuntia
and some Euphorbia species.
- Hummock grass - Triodia and Plectrachne.
- Mat plant, cushion plant - found in alpine areas.
Qualifier
An enormous variety of qualifiers have been used to describe habit.
However, the fairly limited list below should cover all possibilities,
and you should limit yourself to using these terms.
Terms
Clonal, thicket-forming.
Straight, crooked, slender, robust, whipstick, virgate.
Open, dense, diffuse.
Many-/few-/long-/short- stemmed.
Divaricate/flexuose /drooping/erect/spreading/ whorled/ intricate/
arching stems, branches or branchlets.
Much-/few- branched.
Erect, leaning, decumbent, procumbent, prostrate,ascending, pendulous.
Weak, trailing, straggling.
Pyramidal/cylindrical/rounded/umbrella-shaped/ spreading/weeping
crown.
Tufted, tussock.
Creeping/shortly creeping/extensively creeping/ insidiously creeping,
rhizome, rhizomatous, rooting at nodes.
Definitions
- Virgate - twiggy (and usually also slender).
- Divaricate - branching or spreading widely or at right angles.
- Flexuose - zig zag.
- Intricate - closely interwoven (divaricate plants are usually
also intricate, unless branching is only in one plane).
- Decumbent - more or less horizontal with down-turned tips.
- Procumbent - more or less horizontal with up-turned tips.
- Prostrate - completely flat on the substrate. Procumbent and decumbent
plants are often incorrectly termed prostrate.
- Ascending - weakly erect.
Size
Always record height unless a whole plant is taken as a voucher.
If no other measurements are recorded the suffix "tall" or "high"
is unnecessary. If you also record breadth, diameter at breast height
(dbh) or other measurements (but only if they are remarkable), then
you must write "tall", "broad", "dbh", etc.
Examples:
- Straight tree, long-stemmed, spreading crown, 25m tall, lm dbh.
- Fern, shortly creeping rhizome, 70cm.
- Pendulous woody parasite, 2m.
- Dense tufted herb. (Height is apparent from the specimen.).
- Decumbent open shrub, 40cm tall x 200cm broad.
- Sedge, dense tussock, lm.
Notes
This section is reserved primarily for addition of features of the
plant which either are not present on the specimen or may be lost
during processing and preservation. This applies particularly to bark-types
and flower colour.
Anything at all about the specimen which is noteworthy but not covered
in the given categories should also be mentioned here e.g. "Female
plant is MDC 2167", etc.
Boxes
The purpose of the row of boxes with a letter above each is to indicate
the types of material comprising the collection. Put a cross in the
relevant boxes to indicate material collected. The meanings of the
letter codes are as follows.
H to V refer to herbarium material, C to S to propagating material.
H - Pressed specimen (you should always collect one, unless there
is no fertile material available).
F - Bulky fruits, destined for the carpological collection.
I - Photograph(s). If more than one, write numbers.
A - Spirit material (usually in FPA in a McCartney bottle).
W - A wood + bark sample.
B - Any other bulky material which needs to be boxed separately
e.g. fungal fruiting bodies.
V - Specimens to be filed vertically in envelopes, usually mosses,
liverworts, lichens and some algae.
C - Cuttings.
P - Whole plants, including tubers, bulbs, etc.
S - Seed.
The blank boxes are for material not covered by the above.
Collector and Number (Coll.)
Write you name and your personal collecting number in this category.
Your name must have all initials, and your surname in full. Ideally
you should have only a single number series, starting from 1 increasing
throughout your collecting career. In the event that you lose your
field book, or leave it behind on a trip, leave a good gap from what
you think the last number was and recommence your number series from
a much higher number. A gap is infinitely preferable to duplicated
numbers. More complex number series usually causes confusion. When
you write your number on the tags attached to the specimens, always
precede it with your full initials, e.g. MDC 2567. Most people are
not handwriting experts, and the tag is often the only means of tracing
a specimen to its field book. Always assign exactly one number, no
more or less, to each collection. If other collectors have assisted
you, list their names after your number. Acknowledgement of assistance
is only a common courtesy, and the days of solitary collectors are
mostly over.
Examples:
- F.E. Davies 1279 (tag - FED 1279)
- I.R. Telford 4750, M.D. Crisp & A. Tyrrel. (Tag - IRT 4750).
Date
The date is always the date of collection. The standard way of expressing
it is thus : 19 JAN 1996, i.e. with numbers for day and year, and
three letters, upper case, for the month.
Determined by (Det.)
When Determined Name is entered (later, of course, not in the field),
you should write the name (initial and surname) of the botanist who
made the determination, followed by the date of determination.
Duplicates (Dupl.)
Initially, the number of duplicate herbarium specimens intended
for distribution to other herbaria should be pencilled here. Later,
the actual destination of each duplicate may be inked in, if you wish.
Duplicate distribution is normally done by a botanist.
Some Final Comments on the Field Note Book
If in doubt, record more general terminology, rather than erroneous
information.
When more than one collection is made at a given locality, much
of the data may be repeated from one page to the next. Indicate repetition
by leaving the given category blank.
Make sure that you fill out every page in your book fully. Remember
that blanks are interpreted as repetition.
If for some reason you are unable to record the data for a given
category, although the category is relevant, enter "ND" for "no data".
If a category is irrelevant in the given locality, e.g. aspect in
a flat landscape, enter "NA" for "not applicable".
If you think you have a situation which cannot be described by these
terms in these notes, think again. Perhaps it can be described by
some of the simpler, less general terms. If the situation is unique,
and this can only occur rarely, describe it in your own terms in the
Notes category.
Always go from the general to the specific.
References
Heywood, V.H. (1973). Ecological data in practical taxonomy. In:
Heywood, V.H. (ed.): "Taxonomy and Ecology." pp. 329-348. Academic
Press, (London).
Ecological Society of Australia (1975). Submission by ESA to ABRSIC
on taxonomic and ecological research in Australia. Bull. Ecol.
Soc. Aust. 5: 1-4.
Specht, R.L. (1970). Vegetation. In: Leeper, G.W. (ed.): "The Australian
Environment." pp. 44-67. CSIRO, (Melbourne).
Herbarium Labels
It is standard practice in Australia herbaria for the collector
to write up their own field note book labels and to then pass the
data on to a databaser. Once the draft labels have been produced from
the database, it is the responsibility of the collector to thoroughly
check them for accuracy. This is because only they can satisfactorily
interpret their own field note book data, tidy it up, and correct
any errors. Having made any neccessary corrections to the draft labels,
these are then passed to the databaser once again for the production
of final labels. If you do not feel inclined to follow your collecting
through to this extent, you should not collect. See a botanist if
you are unsure about any aspect of producing labels.
Instructions Concerning Herbarium Labels
Herbarium labels are the authentication of a specimen which has usually
been very costly to collect both in time and money. The facts recorded
on the label should be accurate and complete so that it will stand alone
as a self-explanatory document. An inaccurate or incomplete label is
wasted information and can cause much time to be spent in checking details.
It is the responsibility of the collector to provide accurate, complete
information for the production of herbarium labels.
Labels should only be produced through the database. Hand written
labels are no longer acceptable.
All labels must be originals. Photo copies are not acceptable.
As accuracy is the keynote, meticulous care is needed both in giving
the information and in databasing it. The labels should also be neatly
arranged. Our labels go to interstate and overseas herbaria and we are
judged by their appearance.
Never write "E" for Eucalyptus in a name on a label.
The "E" could stand for many other genera. We are all familiar
with this as a short cut, but others are not always so.
Also, in notes, use Euc. instead of E., for the same
reason as above.
Dates, by convention among all Australia herbaria, should be given
as follows:- 12 DEC 1994, 12 JUN 1994, 12 SEP 1994. No full-stop is
used after the three-letter abbreviations for the month.
It is the responsibility of the databaser to refer the label back
to the collector if information is not clear or not in conformity with
these instructions.
Author citation should be checked as to correctness. Special attention
should be paid to punctuation which indicates abbreviated names. All
author abbreviations are standard, and should be checked against the
Australian Plant Name Index.
Data should be given in the same sequence as in your field book. It
must be written in full.
Always give the State or Territory, in full, viz. "New South Wales"
for "N". Always give the district in full, viz. "Southern tablelands"
for "st". Add the word "district" for the following states only: Western
Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, and Queensland.
Latitude and longitude figures should be put into the collecting book
as soon as possible, preferably in the field.
The name(s) of the collector(s) should be accurate, using the correct
initials and full surname(s).
Altitude should be given in metres.
The collector should use one series of numbers throughout their career
and these should be simple, perhaps with his/her initials as a prefix.
Complicated systems should not be used.
The name of the person determining the specimens should be given in
full, even if it is the same name as the collector. Many specimens exist
in herbaria where the collector or determiner is unknown because only
initials were used.
It is the resonsibility of the collector to ensure accuracy at
the beginning and to check the final label.
Return to
An Introduction
to Collecting Plants
Updated
21 February, 2008
by webmaster (cpbr-info@anbg.gov.au)
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