A taxonomic inventory strategy is proposed for the planetary exploration of biological diversity. Such inventories result in comprehensive collections, our only insurance against bio-ignorance; meet needs for basic taxonomic and phylogenetic research; make full use of limited taxonomic resources; and provide credible, verifiable data associated with museum and herbarium specimens. Decisive efforts to meet the biodiversity crisis need not compromise advances in taxonomic theory and practice in the interest of expediency. Inventories provide data for understanding the origin and history of diversification of life on Earth, while gathering scientific evidence to inform decisions related to conservation and resource management.
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Wheeler, Q.D. Systematics, the scientific basis for inventories of biodiversity. Biodivers Conserv 4, 476–489 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00056338
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00056338