Collection of the Mid-Atlantic Flora
In addition to ‘project oriented’ collections, MARSB is always working to collect the mid-Atlantic Flora. In 2012 and 2013, MARSB established a Species Selection Committee to identify appropriate species to target on a more ‘opportunistic’ basis. The MARSB Species Selection Committee was made up of floristic experts throughout the region who were asked to suggest species considering eleven specific selection criteria. Furthermore, there was broad participation in this selection process by regional botanists, plant ecologists, plant conservationists, and restorationists in order to ensure the list is representative of the regions’ diversity, geography, plant communities and habitats, while focusing on those species critical for conservation and restoration. This list is not intended to be static, but rather dynamic, changing through time with new input from regional conservation and restoration authorities.
Collection of Early Successional Species
One of the first habitats that MARSB focused on for both programatic and opportunistic collections was Early successional habitats. These habitats are rare in the Mid-Atlantic Region due to many biological and anthropogenic pressures, such as development and excessive deer herbivory. Many of these early successional habitats are imperative for the survival of endangered animals and birds. The list of species was pulled from the broader Mid-Atlantic Flora list mentioned above and include plants from a variety of plant communities.
For species list see Collector’s Resources