Societal Impact Statement As herbaria digitize millions of plant specimens, ethnobotanical information associated with them is becoming increasingly accessible. These biocultural data include plant uses, names, and/or management practices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). However, the absence of shared curatorial standards limits accessibility and use by IPLCs and others. We estimated and characterized ethnobotanical data associated with herbarium specimens and provide here key considerations for future work. We identified a proportionally small, yet collectively significant, number of ethnobotanical specimens, and call for coordinating best practices among global herbaria to locate, acknowledge, and responsibly share this information, together with source communities. Summary As herbaria digitize millions of plant specimens, those containing biocultural information are becoming increasingly accessible. This information — also known as ethnobotanical data — holds both cultural and scientific value, and may include plant uses, vernacular names, local species concepts, cultural values, and plant management practices of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs). However, the lack of coordinated curatorial standards currently limits both the accessibility and effective use of this information by IPLCs, ethnobotanists, and others. To address this gap, we quantitatively estimated and characterized ethnobotanical information associated with herbarium specimens and offer key considerations to guide future work. We identified a proportionally small —yet collectively significant— number of ethnobotanical specimens, comprising approximately 1.6% of all specimen records and representing hundreds of thousands of specimens in the surveyed herbaria. We advocate for coordinating best practices to locate, acknowledge, and ethically share this information among herbaria, working together with source communities and through global cooperation.

Medicinal plants have been integral to human cultures for millennia and have played a central role in the development and expansion of societies.1 These plants are pivotal for ongoing pharmaceutical research and drug development,1,2,3 contribute to ecosystem health,4 and support myriad cultural traditions and the global economy.4,5,6 Despite their importance, however, the factors influencing the global diversity and distribution of medicinal plants remain underexplored. Their diversity, like that of other species groups, is shaped by abiotic and biotic influences, which include, in unique ways, human ecological (including cultural) practices. A key unexplored topic is whether variation in the duration of human interactions with a flora has influenced regional heterogeneity in medicinal plant knowledge and diversity. Here, we investigate and compare these influences on the distribution and diversity of 32,460 medicinal plant species and on global vascular plant distributions. We identify significant regional variation in medicinal plant diversity, including "hotspots" (India, Nepal, Myanmar, and China) and "coldspots" (the Andes, New Guinea, Madagascar, the Cape Provinces, and Western Australia) of diversity. Regions with long histories of human settlement typically boast richer medicinal floras than expected. By contrast, language diversity, an indicator of cultural diversity, has a limited direct connection to medicinal plant diversity, but its indirect associations warrant further exploration. Our study emphasizes the need for integrated conservation strategies that incorporate both standard ecological factors and human ecological dimensions. The latter are critical not only for understanding but also for preserving medicinal plant resources and enhancing global healthcare solutions.

Climate change impacts on social-ecological systems —such as useful plant harvest— can be elucidated through local perceptions and ecological monitoring. To better understand how these two approaches may show convergent or divergent perspectives on a shared system, we conducted semi-structured interviews on climate change impacts on useful plants in the alpine region of Central Bhutan, contextualized with results from ecological monitoring at the same site. Participants reported 42 useful alpine plant species. Incense plants were the most frequently cited and prioritized in free-lists (three times more likely to be mentioned first), ahead of other common uses (food, medicine). Most participants reported climate change impacts: increases in temperature and precipitation, decreases in snow cover, and increasingly frequent landslides and floods that have reduced pasture. Many also mentioned a decrease in availability, quality, and potency of useful plants. Ecological monitoring, in contrast, showed no evidence of decrease in abundance of alpine plants in this area, and measurable increases in some prominent useful species including Rhododendron. Rather than climate-driven changes in plant ecological abundance per se, local accounts of resource insecurity are likely attributable to changes in variability, predictability, and quality of useful plants — climate-driven challenges felt not only by those in Bhutan but by communities throughout the world.

Although over-exploitation and habitat loss limit sustainable management, medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are essential for traditional health practices and as a source of cash income for rural communities around the world. In contrast to a general assumption that harvest negatively affects resource abundance, local knowledge and detailed empirical observations have shown that for some species, some harvest methods maintain or increase abundance. However, many management plans for wild-harvested MAPs lack empirical data on post-harvest recovery of density as well as key demographic measures such as fruit-setting and seed formation. To deepen our understanding of these important social-ecological dynamics across taxa, as well as to offer in-depth empirical data on a key economically important and threatened MAP, we applied controlled simulated-harvest field experiments to Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora in eight populations along an elevation gradient (3800–4700m) in the Nepal Himalayas, including four populations in a restricted-access site and four in an open-access site in north-central and north-western Nepal. Each site with a different conservation regime exhibits distinctive ecological circumstances that shed light on how environmental factors and the level of exploitation influence the characteristics of the plant populations. We hypothesized that not all levels of harvest would be harmful, and that restoration capacity would permit a sustainable level of harvest, subject to both social and ecological pressures (access and elevation). Experimental harvest treatments included removing 0% (control), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the ramets from the experimental plots. We applied a mixed-effects model for repeated measures ANCOVA to determine if harvest treatments appeared to influence on each of the response variables at each site. Density and reproductive output varied significantly among the harvest treatments and covaried with the pre-harvest condition. At low elevations in the restricted-access site, both density and reproductive output recovered within three years after harvest of 50% of the ramets, and within a single year after a 25% harvest. To some extent, strong budding potential and re-sprouting from the old rhizomes compensated for negative harvest impacts. However, in the open-access site, recovery to the pre-harvest level was achieved only for a 25% treatment after one year. Harvest recovery was slower at higher elevations (>4250m), and plots harvested more intensively (>50% extraction) recovered very slowly. Our results indicate that spatially and temporally specific harvesting strategies can be used to manage populations sustainably, supporting both wild plant populations and human livelihoods.

The Periodic Table of Food Initiative addresses food biomolecular composition information gaps through a standardized, accessible and enabling platform based on analytical tools, data and capacity building. Data from 1,650 foods serve as starting point for demonstrating the capacity of this initiative to contribute to nutrition, health and food systems transformations.

BackgroundConcurrent losses in biodiversity and human dietary diversity are evident in Madagascar and across many food systems globally. Wild food harvest can mitigate nutrition insecurities but may also pose species conservation concerns.ObjectivesThis study aimed to examine the association of wild plant and animal species consumption during hunger season with diet diversity and child growth near the Alandraza-Agnalavelo protected forest in Southwestern Madagascar. Second, we studied the conservation status of the consumed wild plants.MethodsMethods from public health nutrition (24-h recall dietary intake, anthropometry using World Health Organization [WHO] Growth Standards), ethnobotany, and forest ecology (ecologic studies of abundance, habitat preference, associated species, food chemistry assays, and species richness) were applied.ResultsMalnutrition in children (n = 305) was highly prevalent: stunting (32.3%); wasting (18.8%); and low-dietary diversity (4% meeting WHO minimum dietary diversity threshold). Animal foods were consumed in small quantities, providing <10% of Dietary Reference Intakes for all limiting nutrients. Twenty-two wild plant species were consumed during hunger season, prominently tubers (Dioscoreaceae), and leafy greens (Asteraceae, Blechnaceae, Portulacaceae, and Solanaceae). Eight of the 9 target species were identified as abundant and “Least Concern,” whereas Amorphophollus taurostigma was abundant and “Vulnerable.” Regression modeling showed wild food consumption was associated with an increased household dietary diversity score [β = 0.29 (0.06 standard error); P < 0.001], and total wild animal foods positively correlated with height-for-age Z score [β = 0.14 (0.07 standard error); P = 0.04].ConclusionsWild plant and animal foods may be an important element of food systems to support human nutrition while maintaining ecosystem viability.

Botanical gardens are addressing urgent biodiversity issues through plant-based capacities including botanical research and data-sharing, conservation horticulture, ecological restoration, seed banking, and more. The Missouri Botanical Garden initiative BiodiverseCity St. Louis, led by the Garden’s sustainability division, adds broad community engagement to this mix. This work includes public and professional education, the demonstration and promotion of ecological landscaping and Green Infrastructure practices, citizen science programs, and coordinating communications for a regional network of partner organizations focused on biodiversity. Diverse activity engages businesses, local governments, elementary and secondary (K-12) schools, colleges, and community groups. Community biodiversity work at the Garden is informed by an institutional core of scientific rigor, provides opportunity for internal collaborations, and aligns with global strategies for plant conservation—to ground impactful local work. Missouri Botanical Garden’s experience offers a model for public gardens: leveraging modes of community engagement, in concert with diverse institutional strengths, to address biodiversity needs.

Daphne bholua Buch. -Ham. ex D. Don (Thymelaeaceae) is a woody shrub native to the temperate forests of the Himalaya. Since the 12th century, the bark of D. bholua has been used as a raw material for handmade paper in Nepal, and employed for value-added products, including government documents, and religious texts. However, unsustainable commercial harvesting now threatens this centuries-old artisanal tradition. To inform and improve the conservation of this important species, we evaluated its habitat characteristics, size class distribution, and regeneration status along an elevation gradient (1900-2500 m) in Madane Mountain, central Nepal. We established 108 plots (5 mx 5 m) at three sites, each with three canopy types: closed, semi-closed, and open. We analyzed habitat characteristics, considering variations in physical and topographic variables and patterns of associated species in different elevation sites. D. bholua exhibited the highest mean density at higher elevations with minimal disturbance, whereas the lowest elevation site, experienced greater human disturbance, with the lowest density. Furthermore, the population structure displayed a 'reverse J-shaped' curve, suggesting favorable conditions for natural recruitment and regeneration. Our research findings also indicate that D. bholua populations thrive in semi-closed forest canopies, particularly when associated with Rhododendron arboreum, Quercus semecarpifolia, and Sarcococca coriacea. The outcomes may hold significant value for policymakers, conservationists, harvesters, paper manufacturers, and regulatory bodies aiding in development of environmentally sound conservation programs tailored to various elevations. Our key recommendation may appear surprising: we advise establishing a small, meticulously managed hand papermaking industry in the villages linked to Madane and nearby areas. This initiative would generate supplemental income and produce a culturally valuable and economically marketable product.

Alcoholic beverages are an important component of many traditional events of Madagascar, including life-course events like male circumcision, burial and exhumation. As with many other parts of Malagasy customary practice, these beverages incorporate the unique and richly diverse flora of Madagascar. We conducted structured interviews with producers and consumers of Malagasy Traditional Alcoholic Beverages (MTABs) in 10 regions of Madagascar, spanning the island from east to west and north to south. We documented 75 plant species used to make three types of Malagasy Traditional Alcoholic Beverages: distilled toaka gasy, fermented cane wine betsa, and fermented palm wine trembo. Of the 75 species, 14 were main materials/main ingredients, 55 were additives during fermentation, and six were used as tools for distillation. The species were diverse, occurring in 35 plant families. Particularly species-rich families were Arecaceae (palm family) as main materials and Rutaceae (citrus family) as additives.

Extreme climate change events are capable of modifying the physiognomy of landscapes, impacting millions of people around the world. Consequently, the traditional knowledge of people residing in these regions about local natural resources may also be affected. To identify how the traditional use of native plant species can be influenced by a change in the availability of these species in a rural community in a semi-arid region, in a scenario of climatic extremes, we developed a Pressure Indicator for Use Preference (PIUP), seeking to identify the species under the greatest pressure of use. The study was carried out in the São Francisco Rural Community, in the Cabaceiras Municipality, in the semi-arid region of the Paraíba State, with 42 local informants. The species with the highest PIUP had their potential distribution for the year 2050 modeled using the HadGEM2-ES climate model under the RCP4.5 scenario, as an optimistic forecast, and the RCP8.5 scenario, as a pessimistic forecast. The construction of the models identified a potential increase in the coverage area of ​​all analyzed species, with a greater territorial extension for the RCP8.5 scenario. Myracrodoun urundeuva, Mimosa tenuiflora and Croton blanchetianus were the species with the lowest potential area growth for the year 2050. The high use of species, especially M. urundeuva, associated with reduced growth in a more arid environment is a worrying factor for the population structure of the species, as well as for rural communities that make representative use of the species.

One of the main goals of ecological studies is to disentangle the dynamics that underlie the spatiotemporal distribution of biodiversity and further functions of the ecosystem. However, due to many ecological and geopolitical reasons, many remote areas with high plant species diversity have not been assessed using newly based analytical approaches for vegetation characterization. Here, we classified and characterized different vegetation types (i.e., major plant communities) based on indicator species and on the influence of different environmental gradients in the Himalayan mixed coniferous forest, Pakistan. For that, we addressed the following questions: Does the vegetation composition of the Himalayan mixed coniferous forest correlate with climatic, topographic, geographic, and edaphic variables? Is it possible to identify plant communities through indicator species in relation to environmental gradients using multivariate approaches? Can this multivariate be helpful for conservation planning? During four consecutive years we assessed the vegetation composition and environmental variables (21 variables divided in geographic, climatic, topographic, and edaphic groups) of 156 50 m-trasects between an elevation of 2000–4000 m. Using newly based analytical approaches for community characterization, we found a total of 218 plant species clustered into four plant communities with the influence of environmental gradients. The highest index of similarity was recorded between Pinus-Cedrus-Viburnum (PCV) and Viburnum-Pinus-Abies (VPA) communities, and the highest index of dissimilarity was recorded between PCV and Abies-Juniperus-Picea (AJP) communities. Among these four communities, highest number of plant species (156 species) was recorded in PCV, maximum alpha diversity (H’ = 3.68) was reported in VPA, highest Simpson index (0.961) and Pielou’s evenness (0.862) were reported in VPA and AJP. The edaphic gradients (i.e., organic matter, phosphorous, pH and soil texture) and climatic factors (temperature, humidity) were the strongest environmental gradients that were responsible for structuring and hosting the diverse plant communities in mixed coniferous forest. Finally, the Himalayan mixed coniferous structure is more influenced by the spatial turnover beta-diversity process (βsim) than by the species loss (nestedness-resultant, βsne). Our analysis of the vegetation structure along the environmental gradient in the Himalayan mixed coniferous forest supported by sophisticated analytical approaches reveled indicator species groups, which are associated to specific microclimatic zones (i.e., vegetation communities). Within this focus, we side with the view that these results can support conservation planning and management for similar and different areas providing mitigating and preventive measures to reduce potential negative impacts, such as anthropic and climatic.

Despite considerable progress in the field of education science, there is currently no consensus on the components that define inclusive and equitable quality education, how they are articulated with one another, and what are the best interventions to foster inclusive and equitable quality education. Current research investigates separately components of what appears to be a complex dynamic system with feedback interactions. To characterize this system and identify structures that encompass inclusive and equitable quality education, we used a community-based system dynamics approach. This approach hypothesizes that community perceptions of the local school system is essential to define it. We therefore conducted 648 participatory Group Model Building workshops with school stakeholders (children, teachers, parents and members of school management committees) resulting in as many models in 99 schools of Afghanistan and Pakistan. To identify common components across models built by participants in two waves of schools' model building workshops, we applied techniques from multivariate analysis of ecological communities. Even across wide differences in participants' situations and roles in the educational process, their models expressed a common reinforcing feedback loop which connected child inclusive and equitable quality education to two other components: 1) child engagement in and motivation for education, and 2) child attendance. Increases in any of these three components were perceived to drive increases in the others. We also found that child focus on learning was commonly expressed as interacting with this generic structure. Any educational reform should simultaneously and primarily embrace learners' diversity, combine policy principles of ensuring easy equitable access to foster attendance, and promote student interest and engagement in learning through child centered pedagogy and non-discriminatory teaching practices while giving school communities power for implementation.

Mt Yulong is central to Naxi people of Southwest China. Through participatory mapping, free listing, and extended semi-structured interviews, we explored relations of Naxi cosmologies of sacred space with "biodiversity conservation". For this commonly espoused partnership, we found encouragement, skepticism and challenges. Naxi perspectives on sacred space and conservation ranged in scale from hyper-local, through regional, to historical and cosmological. Some participants worried about conjoining religion with government conservation initiatives. Others argued conceptually that "conservation" prioritizes people while traditional Naxi cosmology stresses equality and brotherhood between people and nature. Challenges for conservation would be to integrate this cosmological view as well as origin myths, Naxi traditions of suicide, and Sanduo, the god of Mt Yulong, who "shines like lightning [and his] mouth spits fire" – not a deity to be engaged without care. Naxi stressed primacy of culture and cosmology. These cosmological issues raised in a local context are of far greater magnitude than one culture and one mountain and may suggest paths to effective conservation of sacred natural spaces around the world.

Background: The Republic of Georgia is part of the Caucasus biodiversity hotspot, and human agricultural plant use dates back at least 6000 years. Over the last years lots of ethnobotanical research on the area has been published. In this paper we analyze the use of food plants in the 80% of Georgia not occupied by Russian forces. We hypothesized that, (1) given the long tradition of plant use, and the isolation under Soviet rule, plant use both based on home gardens and wild harvesting would be more pronounced in Georgia than in the wider region, (2) food plant use knowledge would be widely and equally spread in most of Georgia, (3) there would still be incidence of knowledge loss despite wide plant use, especially in climatically favored agricultural regions in Western and Eastern Georgia. The alpine vegetation of the Caucasus hotspot has fascinated botanists for centuries. Given the very complicated biogeographic setting, a concise classification of vegetation communities has however eluded science so far. Methods: The present work, based on 619 plots, is the first study to attempt a concise phytosociological classification. Even given this large number of samples a complete vegetation classification still proved difficult, and more releveés are needed for a detailed assessment, following Braun-Blanquet. It is also the first attempt to give an overview on plant uses in the alpine and subalpine areas of Georgia. For plant uses we employed the very large dataset that we gathered all over Georgia interviewing over 300 participants from 2014-2019. For the vegetation analysis we employed traditional phytosociological table work combined with an analysis based on species composition, coverage and abiotic factors using "R", compared to a classification using "Twinspan". From 2013 to 2019 we also interviewed over 380 participants in all regions of Georgia not occupied by Russian forces. All interviews were carried out in the participants' homes and gardens by native speakers of Georgian and its dialects (Imeretian, Rachian, Lechkhumian, Tush, Khevsurian, Psavian, Kakhetian), other Kartvelian languages (Megrelian, Svan) and minority languages (Ossetian, Ude, Azeri, Armenian, Greek). Results: We found that 183 species of the subalpine and alpine flora, representing about 33% of all species encountered in the vegetation survey, had reported uses. The usage of alpine and subalpine species in Georgia is mostly focused on the use of the plants as fodder, which is unsurprising. Green crops such as Lactuca sativa, Phaseolus vulgaris, Ocimum basilicum, Mentha x piperita, Allium cepa, and Artemisia dracunculus are grown virtually everywhere. Cucurbita pepo, Cucumis sativus, Solanum melongena, and Zea mays, all introduced species, were discovered to be popular elements in local cuisine. In human and veterinary medicine, however, Matricaria chamomilla, Berberis vulgaris, and Juniperus hemisphaerica are still used. There are two vegetation classes: Bromopsis variegatae - Festucaetea ovinea (Class. nov.) (Subalpine pastures), which has seven orders and twelve alliances/eighteen associations, and Sympoholoma graveolensis - Saxifragetea exaratae (Class. nov.) (Alpine pastures), which has one order, two alliances, and four associations. Conclusions: The alpine and subalpine vegetation of the Greater Caucasus and its uses were assessed in detail for the first time, highlighting the still existing gaps in both phytosociological and ethnobotanical work. Given the establishment of borders in post-soviet independence, it will be interesting to see how long this original cross-cultural knowledge will remain, given that the actual use of the traditional knowledge, as well as cross-border high altitude pastoralism are declining. Keywords: Republic of Georgia, Caucasus, Traditional Knowledge

By assessing plant species composition and distribution in biodiversity hotspots influenced by environmental gradients, we greatly advance our understanding of the local plant community and how environmental factors are affecting these communities. This is a proxy for determining how climate change influences plant communities in mountainous regions ("space-for-time" substitution). We evaluated plant species composition and distribution, and how and which environmental variables drive the plant communities in moist temperate zone of Manoor valley of Northwestern Himalaya, Pakistan. During four consecutive years (2015-2018), we sampled 30 sampling sites, measuring 21 environmental variables, and recording all plant species present in an altitudinal variable range of 1932-3168 m.a.s.l. We used different multivariate analyses to identify potential plant communities, and to evaluate the relative importance of each environmental variable in the species composition and distribution. Finally, we also evaluated diversity patterns, by comparing diversity indices and beta diversity processes. We found that (i) the moist temperate zone in this region can be divided in four different major plant communities; (ii) each plant community has a specific set of environmental drivers; (iii) there is a significant variation in plant species composition between communities, in which six species contributed most to the plant composition dissimilarity; (iv) there is a significant difference of the four diversity indices between communities; and (v) community structure is twice more influenced by the spatial turnover of species than by the species loss. Overall, we showed that altitudinal gradients offer an important range of different environmental variables, highlighting the existence of micro-climates that drive the structure and composition of plant species in each micro-region. Each plant community along the altitudinal gradient is influenced by a set of environmental variables, which lead to the presence of indicator species in each micro-region.

Mt Yulong is central to Naxi people of Southwest China. Through participatory mapping, free listing, and extended semi-structured interviews, we explored relations of Naxi cosmologies of sacred space with “biodiversity conservation”. For this commonly espoused partnership, we found encouragement, skepticism and challenges. Naxi perspectives on sacred space and conservation ranged in scale from hyper-local, through regional, to historical and cosmological. Some participants worried about conjoining religion with government conservation initiatives. Others argued conceptually that “conservation” prioritizes people while traditional Naxi cosmology stresses equality and brotherhood between people and nature. Challenges for conservation would be to integrate this cosmological view as well as origin myths, Naxi traditions of suicide, and Sanduo, the god of Mt Yulong, who “shines like lightning [and his] mouth spits fire” – not a deity to be engaged without care. Naxi stressed primacy of culture and cosmology. These cosmological issues raised in a local context are of far greater magnitude than one culture and one mountain and may suggest paths to effective conservation of sacred natural spaces around the world.

Elevation gradients of mountains serve as ideal settings to test the impact of pollinators on plant community assemblages. A shift from bird to insect-mediated pollination is expected with an increase in elevation, and such biotic shifts become more prominent in transition zones or ecotones. This shift in pollinator communities may influence plant communities if pollinators select plants with a specific set of floral traits and flowering phenology to maximize their floral resource (nectar) acquisition. However, empirical studies that examine the relative role of pollinator interactions (such as facilitation and competition) in the assembly of plant communities along elevation gradients are limited. Here we use an integrative framework combining floral traits, pollinators, flowering phenology and community phylogenetic data to reveal the relative role of facilitative and competitive interactions in the assembly of Rhododendron communities along elevation gradients in the Sikkim Himalaya. We find evidence that at lower elevations the Rhododendron community is structured by both facilitation and competition. In contrast, communities in the transition zone and at higher elevations are structured by competition alone. In lower elevations, corolla length, followed by the start of flowering phenology and nectar volume, showed significant phenotypic clustering and supported the facilitation while all other traits were overdispersed, suggesting the role of competition. Furthermore, a clustered phylogenetic structure was pre-dominately observed at lower-elevation Rhododendron communities. In comparison, a dispersed and random phylogenetic structure was observed in the transition zone and at higher elevations. We observed greater overlap in flowering phenology and less pollinator similarity in lower elevation communities, compared to those in higher reaches. We suggest that in the Himalaya, even at small spatial scales, indirect biotic interactions may significantly contribute to the assembly of interdependent alpine plant communities. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of considering plant-pollinator interactions as important drivers when evaluating plant community assembly processes.