The Global Data Ecosystems of Botanic Gardens - What We Need and Why

Record keeping is a fundamental aspect of a botanic gardens that sets them apart from other parks and gardens, and data is the backbone of climate change research. All of this information feeds into research and the creation of tools which empower botanic gardens to adapt to climate change.

The recent Cambridge University Botanic Garden publication in Nature Plants highlights that a lack of international standards for record keeping and the digitisation of records impinges both data quality and data access, which has ramifications for climate change research and action. Radical reformation and action is required to rectify this, to which BGCI has also responded.

The Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens is pleased to host an open discussion with main author Prof Sam Brockington. Please join us for an open conversation around the nuances and challenges involved in establishing such a global platform and contribute your context and point of view. The more diverse perspectives, the more useful the conversation. All are welcome.

The link to the session will be provided closer to the date. This forum will be primarily in English.

• High-performance living plant collections require a globally integrated data ecosystem to meet twenty-first-century challenges - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-025-02192-6

  • The publication in Nature Plants, which arises from the previous publication in Nature Ecology & Evolution here - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02633-z

• World’s vast plant knowledge not being fully exploited to tackle biodiversity and climate challenges, warn researchers - https://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/news/worlds-vast-plant-knowledge-not-being-fully-exploited-tackle-biodiversity-and-climate

  • An overview of the above paper published on the Cambridge University Department of Plant Sciences Blog

• Statement on Living Collections Data Ecosystem planning, development and management for botanic gardens - https://www.bgci.org/news-events/living-collections-data-ecosystem/

  • BGCI's statement and proposal to begin addressing this issue

Questions? Queries? Contact us at climatechangealliance@rbg.vic.gov.au

On behalf of the Secretariat of the Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens,

Tessa Kum