56 research outputs found
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Comparison of herbarium label data and published medicinal use: herbaria as an underutilized source of ethnobotanical information
The use of herbarium specimens as vouchers to support ethnobotanical surveys is well established. However,
herbaria may be underutilized resources for ethnobotanical research that depends on the analysis of large datasets compiled across multiple sites. Here, we compare two medicinal use datasets, one sourced from
published papers and the other from online herbaria to determine whether herbarium and published data
are comparable and to what extent herbarium specimens add new data and fill gaps in our knowledge of
geographical extent of plant use. Using Brazilian legumes as a case study, we compiled 1400 use reports from
105 publications and 15 Brazilian herbaria. Of the 319 species in 107 genera with cited medicinal uses, 165
(51%) were recorded only in the literature and 55 (17%) only on herbarium labels. Mode of application,
plant part used, or therapeutic use was less often documented by herbarium specimen labels (17% with
information) than publications (70%). However, medicinal use of 21 of the 128 species known from only
one report in the literature was substantiated from independently collected herbarium specimens, and 58
new therapeutic applications, 25 new plant parts, and 16 new modes of application were added for species
known from the literature. Thus, when literature reports are few or information-poor, herbarium data can
both validate and augment these reports. Herbarium data can also provide insights into the history and
geographical extent of use that are not captured in publications
Plant Power:Opportunities and challenges for meeting sustainable energy needs from the plant and fungal kingdoms
Societal Impact Statement
Bioenergy is a major component of the global transition to renewable energy technologies. The plant and fungal kingdoms offer great potential but remain mostly untapped. Their increased use could contribute to the renewable energy transition and addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 âEnsure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.â Current research focuses on species cultivated at scale in temperate regions, overlooking the wealth of potential new sources of smallâscale energy where they are most urgently needed. A shift towards diversified, accessible bioenergy technologies will help to mitigate and adapt to the threats of climate change, decrease energy poverty, improve human health by reducing indoor pollution, increase energy resilience of communities, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
Summary
Bioenergy derived from plants and fungi is a major component of the global transition to renewable energy technologies. There is rich untapped diversity in the plant and fungal kingdoms that offers potential to contribute to the shift away from fossil fuels and to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) âEnsure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.â Energy povertyâthe lack of access to modern energy servicesâis most acute in the Global South where biodiversity is greatest and least investigated. Our systematic review of the literature over the last 5 years (2015â2020) indicates that research efforts have targeted a very small number of plant species cultivated at scale, mostly in temperate regions. The wealth of potential new sources of bioenergy in biodiverse regions, where the implementation of SDG7 is most urgently needed, has been largely overlooked. We recommend next steps for bioenergy stakeholdersâresearch, industry, and governmentâto seize opportunities for innovation to alleviate energy poverty while protecting biodiversity. Smallâscale energy production using native plant species in bioenergy landscapes overcomes many pitfalls associated with bioenergy crop monocultures, such as biodiversity loss and conflict with food production. Targeted traitâbased screening of plant species and biological screening of fungi are required to characterize the potential of this resource. The benefits of diversified, accessible bioenergy go beyond the immediate urgency of energy poverty as more diverse agricultural landscapes are more resilient, store more carbon, and could also reduce the drivers of the climate and environmental emergencies
Unlocking plant resources to support food security and promote sustainable agriculture
As the world's population is increasing, humanity is facing both shortages (hunger) and excesses (obesity) of calorie and nutrient intakes. Biodiversity is fundamental to addressing this double challenge, which involves a far better understanding of the global state of food resources. Current estimates suggest that there are at least 7,039 edible plant species, in a broad taxonomic sense, which includes 7,014 vascular plants. This is in striking contrast to the small handful of food crops that provide the majority of humanity's calorie and nutrient intake. Most of these 7,039 edible species have additional uses, the most common being medicines (70%), materials (59%), and environmental uses (40%). Species of major food crops display centers of diversity, as previously proposed, while the rest of edible plants follow latitudinal distribution patterns similarly to the total plant diversity, with higher species richness at lower latitudes. The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List includes global conservation assessments for at least 30% of edible plants, with ca. 86% of them conserved ex situ. However, at least 11% of those species recorded are threatened. We highlight multipurpose NUS of plants from different regions of the world, which could be key for a more resilient, sustainable, biodiverse, and community participation-driven new âgreen revolution.â Furthermore, we explore how fungi could diversify and increase the nutritional value of our diets. NUS, along with the wealth of traditional knowledge about their uses and practices, offer a largely untapped resource to support food security and sustainable agriculture. However, for these natural resources to be unlocked, enhanced collaboration among stakeholders is vital
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Comparative phylogenetic methods and the cultural evolution of medicinal plant use
Human life depends on plant biodiversity and the ways in which plants are used are culturally determined. Whilst anthropologists have used phylogenetic comparative methods (PCMs) to gain an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the evolution of political, religious, social, and material culture, plant use has been almost entirely neglected. Medicinal plants are of special interest because of their role in maintaining peopleâs health across the world. PCMs in particular, and cultural evolutionary theory in general, provide a framework in which to study the diversity of medicinal plant applications cross-culturally, and to infer changes in plant use through time. These methods can be applied to single medicinal plants as well as the entire set of plants used by a culture for medicine, and they account for the non-independence of data when testing for floristic, cultural or other drivers of plant use. With cultural, biological, and linguistic diversity under threat, gaining a deeper and broader understanding of the variation of medicinal plant use through time and space is pressing
Opportunities and challenges for an Indonesian forest monitoring network
© 2019, INRA and Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature. Key message: Permanent sampling plots (PSPs) are a powerful and reliable methodology to help our understanding of the diversity and dynamics of tropical forests. Based on the current inventory of PSPs in Indonesia, there is high potential to establish a long-term collaborative forest monitoring network. Whilst there are challenges to initiating such a network, there are also innumerable benefits to help us understand and better conserve these exceptionally diverse ecosystems
State of the worldâs plants and fungi 2020
Kewâs State of the Worldâs Plants and Fungi project provides assessments of our current knowledge of the diversity of plants and fungi on Earth, the global threats that they face, and the policies to safeguard them. Produced in conjunction with an international scientific symposium, Kewâs State of the Worldâs Plants and Fungi sets an important international standard from which we can annually track trends in the global status of plant and fungal diversity
Dicksonia utteridgei, a new species of hairy tree fern (Dicksoniaceae - Cyatheales) from New Guinea
A new species of hairy tree fern (Dicksoniaceae - Cyatheales) is described and illustrated: Dicksonia utteridgei from stunted ridge forest in central New Guinea. The species is the only one in the genus with a combination of fully pinnate to bipinnate-pinnatifid pinnules and bristly spreading petiole hairs
Indigenous knowledge networks in the face of global change
Indigenous communities rely extensively on plants for food, shelter, and medicine. It is still unknown, however, to what degree their survival is jeopardized by the loss of either plant species or knowledge about their services. To fill this gap, here we introduce indigenous knowledge networks describing the wisdom of indigenous people on plant species and the services they provide. Our results across 57 Neotropical communities show that cultural heritage is as important as plants for preserving indigenous knowledge both locally and regionally. Indeed, knowledge networks collapse as fast when plant species are driven extinct as when cultural diffusion, either within or among communities, is lost. But it is the joint loss of plant species and knowledge that erodes these networks at a much higher rate. Our findings pave the road toward integrative policies that recognize more explicitly the inseparable links between cultural and biological heritage. © 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
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