The goal of the Atlas Project is to produce graphic tools for naturalists and ecologists. The digital atlases, an Atlas Foundation specialty, are collections of images, diagrams, and text, that can be zoomed to show structural details at up to 30x magnification. They also use icons and identification diagrams, two more Atlas specialties, to show ecology and critical characteristics.
Charts are big complex graphics, often with many species on a one-sided sheet to hang on the wall, and two-sided and foldable for field use. Charts of woody plant leaves and buds are available now; charts of sedges will be available in spring of 2019 and mosses will be available in spring or fall, 2019.
Photo-guides are large easy-to-use books using high resolution studio images. They are essentially a convenient form of the folding charts. Photo-guides are being published by Cornell University Press in spring or fall of 2019.
Field guides are full-length books, with drawings, text, maps, and diagrams, intended for field identification. The first field guide, to woody plants, is in preparation now, and should be published in 2019, by Yale University Press.
Grant Analysis: Although an ongoing project, the amazing results to-date as demonstrated by the rich content on the website make this already a very successful grant.
- Grant Name: Northern Forest Atlas
- Project Size: $2,000,000
- Grant Amount: $250,000 over five years
- Strategic Value: Creating a base-line of the current flora in the great northern forest