Rothfels Carl J, Lee Jaemin, Sundue Michael A, Smith Alan R, Kasameyer Amy, Gross Joyce, Holman Garth, Hu Shusheng, von Konrat Matt, Sessa Emily B, Watson Kimberly, Weakley Alan, Zhang Libing, Gensel Patricia, Hassler Michael, Pearson Katelin D, Gilbert Ed, Burnham Robyn J, Rabeler Richard K, Sweeney Patrick, Vasco Alejandra, Testo Weston, Giblin David E, Ickert-Bond Stefanie M, Landis Margaret, Link-Perez Melanie, Livshultz Tatyana, Miller Ian, Neefus Christopher, Pigg Kathleen, Power Mitchell, Prather Alan, Rehman Tiana, Struwe Lena, Vincent Michael, Weiblen George, Whitfeld Timothy, Windham Michael D, Yatskievych George, Liston Aaron, Makings Elizabeth, Pryer Kathleen M, Strömberg Caroline, Atri Eve, Best Jason, Glasspool Ian, Huiet Layne, Johnson Elizabeth, King Megan R, Klymiuk Az, Lupia Richard, Majure Lucas C, McCormick Carol Ann, McCourt Richard, Oberreiter Shanna, Perkins Kent D, Rodriguez Yarency, Smith Chelsea, Solomon James, Teisher Jordan, Ford-Werntz Donna, Fuehrding-Potschkat Petra, Little Holly, Ranker Tom A, Schuettpelz Eric, Tribble Carrie M, Erwin Diane M, Looy Cindy V
Ecology Center and Department of Biology Utah State University Logan 84322 Utah USA.
Department of Integrative Biology University of California, Berkeley Berkeley 94720 California USA.
Appl Plant Sci. 2025 Mar 10;13(2):e70003. doi: 10.1002/aps3.70003. eCollection 2025 Mar-Apr.
Pteridophytes-vascular land plants that disperse by spores-are a powerful system for studying plant evolution, particularly with respect to the impact of abiotic factors on evolutionary trajectories through deep time. However, our ability to use pteridophytes to investigate such questions-or to capitalize on the ecological and conservation-related applications of the group-has been impaired by the relative isolation of the neo- and paleobotanical research communities and by the absence of large-scale biodiversity data sources.
Here we present the Pteridophyte Collections Consortium (PCC), an interdisciplinary community uniting neo- and paleobotanists, and the associated PteridoPortal, a publicly accessible online portal that serves over three million pteridophyte records, including herbarium specimens, paleontological museum specimens, and iNaturalist observations. We demonstrate the utility of the PteridoPortal through discussion of three example PteridoPortal-enabled research projects.
The data within the PteridoPortal are global in scope and are queryable in a flexible manner. The PteridoPortal contains a taxonomic thesaurus (a digital version of a Linnaean classification) that includes both extant and extinct pteridophytes in a common phylogenetic framework. The PteridoPortal allows applications such as greatly accelerated classic floristics, entirely new "next-generation" floristic approaches, and the study of environmentally mediated evolution of functional morphology across deep time.
The PCC and PteridoPortal provide a comprehensive resource enabling novel research into plant evolution, ecology, and conservation across deep time, facilitating rapid floristic analyses and other biodiversity-related investigations, and providing new opportunities for education and community engagement.
蕨类植物是通过孢子传播的维管陆地植物，是研究植物进化的有力系统，特别是在长期以来非生物因素对进化轨迹的影响方面。然而，我们利用蕨类植物来研究此类问题，或利用该类群在生态和保护相关应用方面的能力，受到了新植物学和古植物学研究群体相对孤立以及缺乏大规模生物多样性数据源的影响。
在此，我们介绍蕨类植物标本收藏联盟（PCC），这是一个将新植物学家和古植物学家联合起来的跨学科群体，以及相关的蕨类植物门户（PteridoPortal），这是一个可公开访问的在线门户，提供超过三百万条蕨类植物记录，包括植物标本馆标本、古生物学博物馆标本和iNaturalist观测数据。我们通过讨论三个启用了蕨类植物门户的研究项目来展示其效用。
蕨类植物门户中的数据涵盖全球范围，并且可以灵活查询。蕨类植物门户包含一个分类词汇表（林奈分类的数字版本），在一个共同的系统发育框架中包括现存和已灭绝的蕨类植物。蕨类植物门户允许进行诸如大幅加速经典植物区系学、全新的“下一代”植物区系学方法，以及研究长期以来功能形态的环境介导进化等应用。
蕨类植物标本收藏联盟和蕨类植物门户提供了一个全面的资源，能够对长期以来的植物进化、生态和保护进行新的研究，促进快速的植物区系分析和其他与生物多样性相关的调查，并为教育和社区参与提供新机会。
