Tag: herbaria

Pensoft Joins the Global Lichenology Community at IAL10 in Trieste

The 10th Symposium of the International Association for Lichenology took place in Trieste, where Pensoft showcased its plant science and mycology journal portfolio.

Last week, the 10th Symposium of the International Association for Lichenology (IAL10) took place in Trieste, Italy, from 26 to 31 July 2026, organised by the International Association for Lichenology, the University of Trieste’s Department of Life Sciences and the Italian Lichenological Society.

Held once every four years, the symposium is an important event for the global lichenology community, and this edition proved more popular than ever, drawing over 350 participants from around the world – more than double the number originally expected.

Lichenology is a wonderfully niche field, but IAL10 showed just how far-reaching and collaborative the community is. Delegates travelled from every corner of the globe to discuss taxonomy, lichen-associated microorganisms, biodiversity and conservation, ecophysiology, environmental biomonitoring, and cultural heritage preservation. 

Pensoft’s stand at IAL10

  • Maria Kolesnikova, our Head of Marketing, Sales and Events, at the Pensoft stand at IAL10.

We were pleased to have our own stand at the symposium, where we showcased our journals in plant science and mycology, including:

  • MycoKeys: publishes papers on the monophyletic kingdom Fungi containing taxonomic or ecological data on any taxon of any geological age from any part of the world with no limit to manuscript size;
  • IMA Fungus: considers contributions from all areas of mycology expected to be of interest to the wider mycological community, from basic research to applications
  • PhytoKeys: publishes papers in systematic Botany containing taxonomic/floristic data on any taxon of any geological age from any part of the world 
  • Italian Botanist: publishes original research covering all fields of Botany in its wider sense, including Mycology, ranging from molecular to ecosystem studies
  • Biodiversity Data Journal: publishes papers in biodiversity science containing taxonomic, floristic/faunistic, morphological, genomic, phylogenetic, ecological or environmental data on any taxon of any geological age from any part of the world 
  • Vegetation Classification and Survey: publishes original papers that develop new vegetation typologies as well as applied studies that use such typologies, for example, in vegetation mapping, ecosystem modelling, nature conservation, land use management or monitoring 
  • Pensoft’s journals in plant science and mycology.

It was a great opportunity to speak directly with researchers and students about publishing their work, and to reconnect with authors and editors already part of our community.

  • Garima Singh – Subject Editor and Author in MycoKeys.
  • Muhammad Usman, Author in MycoKeys.
  • Edyta Mazur – Author in Mycokeys.
  • Pier Luigi Nimis – Subject Editor and Reviewer in MycoKeys.

Talks that caught our attention

Among the many excellent presentations at IAL10, two in particular stood out to us:

  • Juri Nascimbene presenting his talk at IAL10 – Historical lichen collections as a time capsule.
  • Juri Nascimbene at Pensoft’s stand.

Juri Nascimbene, a subject editor and author at MycoKeys and an author for Italian Botanist, Vegetation Classification and Survey, and Biodiversity Data Journal, presented on the historical lichen collections held at the University of Bologna’s herbarium (BOLO). His talk explored how these collections, some dating back to the work of Ulisse Aldrovandi in the sixteenth century, allow researchers to track species distributions across centuries. 

Using material such as Antonio Bertoloni’s Hortus Siccus Florae Italicae, which contains 850 georeferenced lichen specimens, Nascimbene’s team has been able to trace the long-term presence of species such as Lobaria pulmonaria in the chestnut groves of the Northern Apennines, and the disappearance of cold-adapted species such as Alectoria ochroleuca from high-altitude sites.

It was a fascinating look at how historical herbaria can inform our understanding of global change today!

  • Martin Grube presenting his talk at IAL10 – Lichens in motion.

We also attended a talk by Martin Grube, a reviewer and author at MycoKeys, who challenged the common perception of lichens as slow-growing organisms. His presentation examined the hygroscopic movements lichens undergo as they take up and lose water, and the mechanical stresses this creates within their thalli.

Grube introduced tools for measuring these mechanical properties and discussed what they might reveal about the evolution and function of lichen structures, thus offering a compelling primer on comparative thallus mechanics.

A new special issue in MycoKeys

While at IAL10, we were pleased to announce a new special issue in MycoKeys: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference of the International Association for Lichenology (IAL10), edited by Mauro Tretiach, Fabio Candotto Carniel, and Lucia Muggia. The special issue will bring together original research articles and short communications covering the full breadth of lichen symbiosis research. We look forward to seeing the community’s latest work published there.

  • Announcement of a special issue in MycoKeys at IAL10.

Celebrating the award winners

Congratulations to all of this year’s IAL10 award winners:

Group photograph of the award winners at IAL10.

Best Posters

  • Honorata Wacławek, “Phylogenetic insights into freshwater Gyalidea (Gomphillaceae, Graphidales) from the high Andes of Bolivia”
  • Ariel Sebastián Udaeta Sanchez, “First axenic cultures of saxicolous lichens from Tucumán (NW Argentina): growth timelines and representation of under-studied neotropical lineages”

Best Flash Talks

  • Ciaran Kelly, “Comparative genomic analyses of antimicrobial proteins encoded by lichen-forming fungi”
  • Anna Pasinato, “The metabolic divide: fungal genomes reveal an unequal distribution of biosynthetic gene clusters”

Best Oral Presentations

  • Victoria K., “Hidden cohabitants: metagenomic insights into global occurrence patterns of black fungi associated with lichens”
  • Diego Garfias Gallegos, “Central metabolism and development are rewired in lichenized cyanobacteria”

Until next time

IAL10 was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the lichenology community, and we were delighted to meet so many authors from our journals in person. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stand, attended a talk with us, or simply shared a conversation about lichens.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Italian Lichenological Society and seeing you all again at the next symposium. 

Follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn for future conference updates.

Community scientists at the Field Museum have digitized more than a quarter-million items and records

Volunteers and members of the “Collections Club” of the Field Museum provide a blueprint for how community scientists can help researchers around the world.

Matt von Konrat teaching student volunteers how to digitize museum specimens.
Photo by Michelle Kuo (c).

There are over three billion specimens and cultural objects housed in natural history collections around the world—things like fossils, dried plants, and pinned insects. Close to forty million of them are at the Field Museum in Chicago, mostly behind the scenes in a vast library documenting life on Earth.

These collections are used by scientists at the museum and around the world to explore what lived where and when and how living things have changed over time.

However, much of the information about these collections is hard to access, because there are no digital records of it.

Specimens from the “behind-the-scenes collections“ at the Field Museum.
Photo by John Weinstein.

Community scientists volunteering at the Field Museum who have formed a Collections Club are helping to solve this problem.

So far, they’ve digitized more than a quarter-million collections items and records.

The Field Museum recently published a scientific paper in the journal Natural History Collections and Museumomics about the work of these community scientists as a record of what they’ve accomplished and as a blueprint for other natural history collections to work with volunteers in their communities.

By the way, the Field Museum prefers to use the term “community scientists” rather than the synonymous “citizen scientists”, in order to emphasize that the work is a community effort. They also wish to be inclusive of all volunteers regardless of their citizenship status. Several community scientists are in fact listed as co-authors of the new.

“What’s remarkable is how the enthusiasm has sustained and grown,” says Matt von Konrat, Head of Botanical Collections at the Field Museum and the lead author of the paper.

“Our surveys show that participants are increasingly motivated by altruistic reasons—they want to contribute to science and support the museum’s mission.

The fact that many of our volunteers are now co-authors on this scientific paper shows how far we’ve come in breaking down traditional barriers between professional scientists and community researchers.”

Since 2015, over 3,800 volunteers have contributed more than 13,500 hours helping to digitize, catalog, and preserve specimens—equivalent to nearly eight years of full-time work. Their efforts have processed over 300,000 scientific specimens, records and objects, making valuable data accessible to researchers worldwide.

“At its core, the Field Museum strives to connect people to the natural world and the human story. The Collections Club reflects this mission by transforming over 300,000 specimens into a digital and physical legacy, providing scientists across the globe with the data they need to understand and protect our biodiversity,”

says von Konrat.

The program’s success has been driven by both in-person and virtual engagement opportunities, particularly through initiatives like WeDigBio (Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections) and the Field Museum’s Collections Club. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program successfully pivoted to virtual participation, maintaining strong community connections when they were needed most.

Community scientists at the Field Museum’s 2019 WeDigBio event curating lichen specimens – a critical process unlocking scientific information from natural history collections.
Photo by Robert Salm.

“There were so many dynamics working against us during COVID: sporadic closures and re-openings in Chicago of restaurants, parks, museums, and businesses. The ability for me to continue cataloging and repackaging specimens for the Field Museum was the only constant and sane reference for me; days of the week and working hours had no boundaries. I don’t think any other museum in Chicago had volunteers as dedicated as the Field Museum, and I was happy to be part of the experience.”

says Robert Salm, a volunteer in the Field Museum’s botanical collections.
A Mobile Museum display made by Field Museum Collections Club members Winne and Gwen Blake.
Photo by Erryn Blake.

The impact extends beyond adults to inspire the next generation of scientists. In one touching example highlighted in the paper, two fifth-grade students were so inspired by their participation that they created their own “Mobile Museum” to share natural history with other young people. These young scientists are among the paper’s co-authors, demonstrating the program’s commitment to elevating youth voices in science.

According to the Blake family, whose children Winnie and Gwen created the Mobile Museum, “Collections Club makes science tangible, accessible, and real. It shows students that away from a conventional classroom setting, where science can feel like a chore, this program helps in contributing to a global community benefiting countless research efforts. The Mobile Museum was created as an extension of Collections Club to bring the passion for science to kids of all ages.”

Collections Club members Winne (blue shirt) and Gwen (pink shirt). 
Photo by Erryn Blake.

The Field Museum’s model demonstrates how institutions of any size can engage their communities in meaningful scientific work. The paper provides detailed recommendations and checklists for other organizations looking to develop similar programs.

“This success story wouldn’t have been possible without Chicago’s vibrant media landscape helping us reach new audiences,” said von Konrat.

“From local blogs to major television networks, each platform played a vital role in building this community of scientists.

We hope this model inspires other museums and research institutions to build similar programs.

Together, we are fostering a shared legacy that underscores the value of biodiversity and scientific heritage for future generations.”

The full research paper, published in the journal Natural History Collections and Museomics, provides a comprehensive overview of the program’s development and impact over nearly a decade of community engagement, while setting a new standard for inclusive scientific authorship.

For more information about getting involved in community science at the Field Museum, visit https://www.fieldmuseum.org/activity/collections-club—the next event is coming up in January 2025!

Stay up-to-date with publications and news from the Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM) journal on social media on BlueSky, X and Facebook.

Research article:

von Konrat M, Rodriguez Y, Bailey C, Gwilliam III GF, Christian C, Aguero B, Ahn J, Albion Z, Allen JR, Bailey C, Blake E, Blake W, Blake G, Briscoe L, Budke JM, Campbell T, Chansler M, Clark D, Delapena R, Denslow M, Dodinval D, Dux E, Ellis S, Ellwood E, Enkhbayer M, Ens B, Evans NM, Fabian A, Ferguson A, Gaswick W, Golembiewski K, Grant S, Hancock L, Hansen K, Janney B, Jones J, Kachian Z, Kawasaki ML, Kellum K, Leek O, Lichamer A, Maier C, Mast A, Martinec JL, Mayer P, Mladek M, Nadhifah A, Neefus C, Nodulman M, Oliver M, Overberg K, Townsend Peterson A, Qazi-Lampert A, Rothfels C, Ryan ZA, Salm R, Schreiner D, Schreiner M, Tepe EJ, Turcatel M, Vega A, Wade H, Webbink K, Weinand D, Widhelm T, Zwingelberg M (2024) From spectators to stewards: Transforming public involvement in natural history collections. Natural History Collections and Museomics 1: 1-33. https://doi.org/10.3897/nhcm.1.138247

News announcement originally published by the Field Museum. Republished with permission.