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Pironon S, Ondo I, Diazgranados M, Allkin R, Baquero AC, Cámara-Leret R, Canteiro C, Dennehy-Carr Z, Govaerts R, Hargreaves S, Hudson AJ, Lemmens R, Milliken W, Nesbitt M, Patmore K, Schmelzer G, Turner RM, van Andel TR, Ulian T, Antonelli A, Willis KJ. The global distribution of plants used by humans. Science 2024; 383:293-297. [PMID: 38236975 DOI: 10.1126/science.adg8028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Plants sustain human life. Understanding geographic patterns of the diversity of species used by people is thus essential for the sustainable management of plant resources. Here, we investigate the global distribution of 35,687 utilized plant species spanning 10 use categories (e.g., food, medicine, material). Our findings indicate general concordance between utilized and total plant diversity, supporting the potential for simultaneously conserving species diversity and its contributions to people. Although Indigenous lands across Mesoamerica, the Horn of Africa, and Southern Asia harbor a disproportionate diversity of utilized plants, the incidence of protected areas is negatively correlated with utilized species richness. Finding mechanisms to preserve areas containing concentrations of utilized plants and traditional knowledge must become a priority for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Pironon
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - I Ondo
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - M Diazgranados
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
- International Plant Science Center, New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY, USA
| | - R Allkin
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | - A C Baquero
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - R Cámara-Leret
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - C Canteiro
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | - Z Dennehy-Carr
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
- Herbarium, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, UK
| | - R Govaerts
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | - S Hargreaves
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | - A J Hudson
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst, Ardingly, UK
- Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, UK
| | - R Lemmens
- Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - W Milliken
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst, Ardingly, UK
| | - M Nesbitt
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
- Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
| | - K Patmore
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | - G Schmelzer
- Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - R M Turner
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
| | - T R van Andel
- Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - T Ulian
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst, Ardingly, UK
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - A Antonelli
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - K J Willis
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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