Researchers studied a century of records from fifty botanic gardens to see how the world’s living plant collections have changed over time. Globally, living collections have collectively reached peak capacity – and restrictions on plant collecting hamper efforts to conserve and study plant diversity. Cambridge University Professor Samuel Brockington, who led the work, said: “A concerted, collaborative effort across the world’s botanic gardens is now needed to conserve a genetically diverse range of plants, and to make them available for research and future reintroduction into the wild.” Montgomery’s efforts have been focused on this important mission for over 30 years. Link: Insights from a century of data reveal global trends in ex situ living plant collections | Nature Ecology & Evolution

Adapted from a press release by the University of Cambridge’