Policy Statement and Authorization Form

The staff of the University of Georgia Herbarium [GA] has an obligation to balance preservation of herbarium specimens with their utilization for scientific research.  The judicious dissection of specimens is normally permitted.  This policy, however, applies to destructive sampling, i.e., permanent removal of material for purposes such as SEM, DNA, palynological, and anatomical studies.  These guidelines, a supplement to "Collections Use Policies" and "GA Herbarium Loan Policies," recognize these analyses as necessary components of contemporary systematic research.  Please read this policy statement carefully, complete the agreement, and attach it to your request. You may download this form as a .pdf file for printing.

· Material may not be removed from herbarium sheets without prior approval from the administration of the University of Georgia Herbarium [GA].  Permission is granted on a case-by-case basis and is contingent upon return of the signed destructive analysis regulations and adherence to them.
· Requests for destructive analysis must detail the specimens and materials required, the procedures to remove them from the specimens, and the method of preparation for study.
· Samples may be removed only when adequate material is available on the sheet.  Damage to the specimen should be avoided.  Whenever possible, samples should be taken from pieces in fragment packets and from obscured portions of specimens.
· Material may not be removed from type collections, historical collections, or taxa represented in the herbarium by less than five collections, except in rare instances, and then only by a designated staff member or with express permission from an appropriate staff member.
· Material may not be removed from a herbarium sheet for a second time if the nature of the study is the same (i.e., pollen material for SEM, leaf material for DNA analysis, etc.).
· Each sheet must be annotated, indicating the type of material removed, the name and institutional affiliation of the researcher, the nature of the study, and the date of removal.
· A copy of SEM or light photographs taken of the material should be deposited at the University of Georgia Herbarium.  Such photographs should include the name of the taxon, collector's name and number, GA accession number, the magnification, and the method of preparation.
· Any DNA sequence data derived from these specimens should be deposited in GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Genbank/GenbankOverview.html).  The GenBank accession numbers should be provided to GA and/or included on the annotation.
· A copy of publications based, at least in part, upon our specimens should be sent for deposit in our library.  The University of Georgia Herbarium [GA] should be cited in all publications as the accepted herbarium acronym "GA."

I have read the above destructive analysis regulations and agree to adhere to these policies.

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Signature, printed name of researcher, & date

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Institution

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Taxa to be sampled