#  IHerbSpec Protocol v1.0 Released 

 





July 10, 2025

 

 

   ![taking spectral measurement of leaf on herbarium sheet](/sites/g/files/omnuum6796/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2025-07/IHerbSpecProtocolv1_0.png?itok=L7aARF96) 

 

The International Herbarium Spectral Digitization Working Group (IHerbSpec), led by HUH Director Jeannine Cavender-Bares and HUH Fellow Dawson White, has released the [IHerbSpec Protocol v1.0](https://iherbspec.github.io/protocol.html), a community-developed standard for collecting and managing reflectance spectral data from herbarium specimens.

The protocol establishes a scalable framework for high-throughput spectral phenotyping and promotes global harmonization of spectral data across biodiversity collections. The protocol was coauthored by 31 contributors from 25 institutions worldwide, with major input from other HUH staff and affiliates, including Michaela Schmull (Director of Collections) and Saima Javed (Curatorial Assistant) on herbarium curation practices, Jonathan Kennedy (Director of Bioinformatics) on metadata standardization, and Antonio Guzmán Q. (Research Scientist) on spectroscopic measurements.

The protocol, associated metadata templates, and supporting materials are now publicly available at [iherbspec.github.io](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__iherbspec.github.io&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=FsR5a5BTGsG2RlrMKCzWzL14AK5LP1gsxK0_j7aUjkM&m=nh2c1RZoVdxklNnLB8OztGcTS_TcroGGkNtajyy9VUPiI7kBeR_FkhoEHxQ9wfom&s=36WWMf6q7Kv3W43j17YWOk1uAa5DvyoT_EVmZotJraE&e=). This release marks a major step toward integrating herbaria into the emerging field of spectral biodiversity science.



 

 

 



 

 

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