The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science
Plant diversity is currently being lost at an unprecedented rate, resulting in an associated decrease in ecosystem services. About a third of the world's vascular plant species face the threat of extinction due to a variety of devastating activities, including, over-harvesting and over exploita...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2018-08-01
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| Series: | Plant Diversity |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468265918300787 |
| _version_ | 1818447347950026752 |
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| author | Gao Chen Weibang Sun |
| author_facet | Gao Chen Weibang Sun |
| author_sort | Gao Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plant diversity is currently being lost at an unprecedented rate, resulting in an associated decrease in ecosystem services. About a third of the world's vascular plant species face the threat of extinction due to a variety of devastating activities, including, over-harvesting and over exploitation, destructive agricultural and forestry practices, urbanization, environmental pollution, land-use changes, exotic invasive species, global climate change, and more. We therefore need to increase our efforts to develop integrative conservation approaches for plant species conservation. Botanical gardens devote their resources to the study and conservation of plants, as well as making the world's plant species diversity known to the public. These gardens also play a central role in meeting human needs and providing well-being. In this minireview, a framework for the integrated missions of botanical gardens, including scientific research, in/ex situ conservation, plant resource utilization, and citizen science are cataloged. By reviewing the history of the development of Kunming Botanical Garden, we illustrate successful species conservation approaches (among others, projects involving Camellia, Rhododendron, Magnolia, Begonia, Allium, Nepenthes, medicinal plants, ornamental plants, and Plant Species with Extreme Small Populations), as well as citizen science, and scientific research at Kunming Botanical Garden over the past 80 years. We emphasize that Kunming Botanical Garden focuses largely on the ex situ conservation of plants from Southwest China, especially those endangered, endemic, and economically important plant species native to the Yunnan Plateau and the southern Hengduan Mountains. We also discuss the future challenges and responsibilities of botanical gardens in a changing world, including: the negative effects of outbreeding and/or inbreeding depression; promoting awareness, study, and conservation of plant species diversity; accelerating global access to information about plant diversity; increasing capacity building and training activities. We hope this minireview can promote understanding of the role of botanical gardens. Keywords: Botanical gardens, Citizen science, Conservation biology, Endangered plants, Germplasm, Horticulture |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T20:02:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cc4f5e425c014db4887838853231d9e4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2468-2659 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T20:02:11Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plant Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc4f5e425c014db4887838853231d9e42022-12-21T22:49:08ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Plant Diversity2468-26592018-08-01404181188The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen scienceGao Chen0Weibang Sun1Kunming Botanical Garden, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Integrative Conservation of Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations, Kunming, 650204, China; Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650204, Yunnan, ChinaKunming Botanical Garden, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, China; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Integrative Conservation of Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations, Kunming, 650204, China; Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650204, Yunnan, China; Corresponding author. Kunming Botanical Garden, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, Yunnan, China. Fax: +86 871 65223622.Plant diversity is currently being lost at an unprecedented rate, resulting in an associated decrease in ecosystem services. About a third of the world's vascular plant species face the threat of extinction due to a variety of devastating activities, including, over-harvesting and over exploitation, destructive agricultural and forestry practices, urbanization, environmental pollution, land-use changes, exotic invasive species, global climate change, and more. We therefore need to increase our efforts to develop integrative conservation approaches for plant species conservation. Botanical gardens devote their resources to the study and conservation of plants, as well as making the world's plant species diversity known to the public. These gardens also play a central role in meeting human needs and providing well-being. In this minireview, a framework for the integrated missions of botanical gardens, including scientific research, in/ex situ conservation, plant resource utilization, and citizen science are cataloged. By reviewing the history of the development of Kunming Botanical Garden, we illustrate successful species conservation approaches (among others, projects involving Camellia, Rhododendron, Magnolia, Begonia, Allium, Nepenthes, medicinal plants, ornamental plants, and Plant Species with Extreme Small Populations), as well as citizen science, and scientific research at Kunming Botanical Garden over the past 80 years. We emphasize that Kunming Botanical Garden focuses largely on the ex situ conservation of plants from Southwest China, especially those endangered, endemic, and economically important plant species native to the Yunnan Plateau and the southern Hengduan Mountains. We also discuss the future challenges and responsibilities of botanical gardens in a changing world, including: the negative effects of outbreeding and/or inbreeding depression; promoting awareness, study, and conservation of plant species diversity; accelerating global access to information about plant diversity; increasing capacity building and training activities. We hope this minireview can promote understanding of the role of botanical gardens. Keywords: Botanical gardens, Citizen science, Conservation biology, Endangered plants, Germplasm, Horticulturehttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468265918300787 |
| spellingShingle | Gao Chen Weibang Sun The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science Plant Diversity |
| title | The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science |
| title_full | The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science |
| title_fullStr | The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science |
| title_short | The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science |
| title_sort | role of botanical gardens in scientific research conservation and citizen science |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468265918300787 |
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