The REFLORA Program: implementation, repatriation, and creation of the REFLORA Virtual Herbarium as a tool for biodiversity studies

Abstract

The program “REFLORA - Brazilian Plants: Historic Rescue and Virtual Herbarium for Knowledge and Conservation of the Brazilian Flora” was established by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) in 2010, involved numerous participants at the international, federal, state, and private company levels, and included approximately 24.5 million reais in investments over a period of 5 years. It had the objective of rescuing and making available images and information about herbarium specimens of Brazilian plants deposited in foreign collections. Under the auspices of this program, research projects were financed with consumable, durable, and grant resources that covered aspects of taxonomy, evolution and phytogeographic adaptation, molecular biology, conservation, use, and historical details of expeditions and their relationship to the colonization of Brazil. Additionally, using subsidies from the REFLORA Program, the REFLORA Virtual Herbarium was created allowing the program to fulfill its initial objectives of receiving 500 thousand images and repatriating data from the RBG-Kew and MNHN-Paris herbaria, as well as data and images from other national and foreign herbaria that were subsequently added. This article describes the historical context of creating and implementing the REFLORA Virtual Herbarium, which has become one of the most important tools for research and advancing knowledge about the biodiversity of plants and fungi, in addition to being fundamental to fulfill international goals and agreements assumed by Brazil, such as Flora of Brazil 2020.