A framework for long‐term environmental monitoring using living plant collections in botanic gardens: A global review and case study from Trinity College Botanic Garden
Societal Impact Statement Botanic gardens play a crucial role in addressing global environmental challenges by providing a unique setting for long‐term plant studies and engaging the public in climate change awareness. Our review highlights the underuse of these gardens' living collections for...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Plants, People, Planet |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10628 |
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| Summary: | Societal Impact Statement Botanic gardens play a crucial role in addressing global environmental challenges by providing a unique setting for long‐term plant studies and engaging the public in climate change awareness. Our review highlights the underuse of these gardens' living collections for monitoring climate impacts, revealing significant gaps in data and phylogenetic diversity. The Witness Tree Project at Trinity College Botanic Garden will enhance long‐term research and public engagement through open‐access data and protocols. This initiative not only advances scientific understanding but also fosters community involvement and education, promoting a collective effort towards mitigating climate change impacts. Summary Botanic gardens are ideal settings for long‐term studies on plant responses to climate change, providing extensive outreach and visitor engagement opportunities. However, the use of living collections for multi‐year studies has not been thoroughly assessed. This paper first reviews environmental monitoring projects conducted in these institutions over three continuous years, revealing that fewer than 1% of botanic gardens and arboreta globally engage in long‐term research. There is also a notable lack of phylogenetic diversity, with only 3% of angiosperm and 35% of gymnosperm families represented. Monitoring efforts mainly focus on phenology and plant pathology, with limited attention to other subjects like plant traits. Moreover, no studies have linked climate change impacts on plants with urban green space research, despite the urban locations of many botanic gardens, and no structured guidelines exist for establishing long‐term monitoring programmes. In the second part of this paper, we introduce The Witness Tree Project (WTP) at Trinity College Botanic Garden (TCBG), a newly established long‐term (>30 years) annual monitoring programme. The WTP tracks the physiological performance of selected woody plants under climate change and the deposition of particulate pollution (PM 2.5 and PM10) on their leaves. The project leverages the potential of a university botanic garden to integrate multidisciplinary research, teaching and outreach activities, using open‐access protocols and data‐sharing practices. Finally, we outline a framework for designing long‐term monitoring programmes in botanic gardens and arboreta. This framework, informed by the establishment and pilot year of the WTP, encourages the use of living collections in advancing global change research. |
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| ISSN: | 2572-2611 |