植物多样性探索需要加速,因为许多物种在发现和描述之前就会灭绝,许多物种丰富的地区仍然缺乏研究。然而,大多数当代植物收藏更喜欢专注于特定的群体,这阻碍了植物多样性的探索和保护。因此,我们需要一种替代方法来解决眼前的困境。综合自然历史收藏(NHC),它存在于20世纪生物多样性探索的巅峰时期。我们探讨了欧内斯特·亨利·威尔逊(20世纪最成功的博物学家之一)在中国的植物收藏,以说明NHC的优势,并讨论NHC是否值得在今天再次推广。从多个来源,我们收集了19,218个可用的样本记录,11,884个收集号分配并分析了收集的物种,集合的性质,恢复了他探索的四条路线。结果表明,威尔逊的标本来自7个省市的28个地级市和38个县级地区,他们属于200个家庭,1046属,3794种,和342个特定分类群,约41%,22%,10%,5%的中国植物科,属,物种,和非特定分类群。威尔逊案例研究表明,NHC在强调物种发现和保护方面特别有效,记录生态信息,了解一个地区的植物区系,并开发景观应用程序。因此,我们强烈主张在物种丰富的地区扩大自然历史收藏。此外,我们建议雇佣专门的收藏家,招募国际合作,以及未来NHC指南的标准化。
Plant diversity exploration needs to be accelerated because many species will go extinct before their discovery and description, and many species-rich regions remain poorly studied. However, most contemporary plant collections prefer to focus on a specific group, which hinders the exploration and conservation of plant diversity. Therefore, we need an alternative approach to the dilemma at hand. The comprehensive Natural History Collection (NHC), which existed throughout the pinnacle of biodiversity exploration in the 20th century could be considered. We explore Ernest Henry Wilson\'s (one of the most successful naturalists in the 20th) plant collections in China as a case to illustrate the advantages of NHC and discuss whether NHC deserves to be promoted again today. From multiple sources, we gathered 19,218 available specimen records of 11,884 collecting numbers assigned and analyzed the collected species, the collection\'s nature, and restored four routes of his explorations. Results reveal that Wilson\'s specimens were collected from 28 prefecture-level cities and 38 county-level regions of 7 provinces or municipalities, they belong to 200 families, 1046 genera, 3794 species, and 342 infraspecific taxa, approximately 41 %, 22 %, 10 %, 5 % of Chinese plant families, genera, species, and infraspecific taxa respectively. The Wilson case study shows that NHC is particularly effective in emphasizing species discovery and conservation, recording ecological information, understanding a region\'s flora, and developing landscape applications. Therefore, we strongly advocate for the expansion of natural history collections in species-rich regions. Furthermore, we recommend the employment of specialized collectors, the enlistment of international cooperation, and the standardization of guidelines for future NHCs.