Botanic gardens hold an extraordinary wealth of plant knowledge and data. A new international report led by Cambridge University Botanic Garden’s Curator, Professor Samuel Brockington, with Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and researchers from more than 50 botanic gardens and research institutions, highlights how much of this data remains underused because information systems are fragmented – and why better global connections are essential for tackling biodiversity loss and climate change.
Gathered over centuries by gardens, researchers and conservationists, this data includes records of living plants, seeds, specimens and horticultural knowledge. Published in Nature Plants, researchers argue that better-connected data systems could unlock powerful insights, helping botanic gardens and conservation organisations make more informed decisions about what to grow, protect and prioritise as environmental pressures increase.
“Living plant collections steward over a third of the world’s land plant diversity, yet this extraordinary collective resource is managed through uneven, weakly connected data systems that were never designed to operate at a global scale.”
While botanic gardens collectively hold some of the world’s richest plant knowledge -from living collections and seed banks to herbarium specimens, and flowering records -much of this information remains scattered across separate systems or is missing altogether, at a time when it is urgently needed for global science and conservation.
Professor Samuel Brockington says:
“Living plant collections steward over a third of the world’s land plant diversity, yet this extraordinary collective resource is managed through uneven, weakly connected data systems that were never designed to operate at a global scale.”
For botanic gardens, this raises important questions. Gardens already generate valuable information through accession records, provenance data, climate tolerance and flowering times. When shared and linked more effectively, these datasets could strengthen conservation planning, support climate-resilient planting, improve responses to pests and diseases and increase the global impact of living collections.
The research calls for living collections data to be treated as essential global infrastructure for biodiversity science and conservation – and explains why bringing this knowledge together is critical for the future of plants and people.
What this means for botanic gardens
Botanic gardens worldwide collectively cultivate at least 30 per cent of all known land plant species. These living collections underpin climate adaptation, ecosystem restoration, food security, medicines and bio-based innovation. Unlocking the full value of the data behind them could transform how gardens plan, collaborate and respond to climate and biodiversity challenges – but only if information systems are designed to work together at a global scale.
Read the full story, World’s vast plant knowledge not being fully exploited to tackle biodiversity and climate challenges, warn researchers, on the University of Cambridge’s website, to find out more.
Alongside the paper, Sam also reflects on what happens next. Writing on LinkedIn, he sets out a clear call for action – rethinking the strategic value of living collections data, investing in shared, community-led data infrastructure and ensuring trust, transparency and good governance sit at the heart of any future global data ecosystem.
Read Samuel Brockington’s LinkedIn article for his perspective on the leadership, decisions and investment needed to turn this vision into collective action: What happens after this paper matters much more than the paper itself.
