01-summary.md

Summary

We review access to literature and type specimens, key resources for taxonomic research. Takeup of Open Access (OA) publishing in plant naming is analysed using the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) data (2012 – 2021), and online availability of specimens analysed using the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Integration of the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) taxonomy and distributional data is used to examine regional variation.

We found that $nomenclatural_act_open_pc$% of vascular plant names are published OA, and $nomenclatural_act_undiscoverable_pc$% are digitally undiscoverable: contained in bibliographic works without a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or with an unresolvable DOI. The most common OA publishing model used is "gold". We also found that $taxa2nativerangetypeavailability.continent_code_l1.taxon_represented_pc$% of taxa are represented by a digitised type specimen mobilised from within the continent of their natural range, and only $taxa2nativerangetypeavailability.area_code_l3.taxon_represented_pc$% from the (more precise) country.

We recommend clear article processing charge (APC) waivers for authors from low and middle income countries to better enable "gold" OA, and promotion of deposition repositories to better enable "green" OA. Nomenclators should clearly indicate the OA status of literature, and mobilise type citation data as material citations to aggregators like GBIF. Names registration systems should promote the capture of code-recommended elements such as catalogue numbers for type specimens. Digital mobilisation of specimen metadata and images from collections based in low and middle income countries must be accelerated to help increase in country taxonomic capacity to document and conserve plant diversity.