SMDB Herbarium: 55 years of producing and disseminating science Liliana Essi, Renato Aquino Záchia, Benardete de Fátima Panno, Tânia M. Boucinha Viana

Abstract

This article presents a brief report of two extension projects carried out at the SMDB herbarium, at the Federal University of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. The aforementioned herbarium currently has a collection of 16,800 plant and fungal specimens. It represents the regional flora, including species from the Pampas and the Atlantic Forest. One of the projects developed consisted of receiving elementary and high school students, presenting the herbarium and its importance in recording biodiversity and helping with research and flora conservation projects. In two years, 900 students and 56 teachers were welcomed. Another project was dedicated to making data available through collaboration with the INCT-CRIA Project of the Virtual Herbarium of Plants and Fungi of Brazil. Firstly, data were included in the BRAHMS system, and then made available on the network. In 2016, there were 305,219 records of consultation of the available data. The projects enabled the participation of several academics, who presented their results at the UFSM Academic Day (JAIUFSM).