The role of botanic gardens in the twenty-first century

Abstract

Botanic gardens and their functions and role in society have evolved over time. Originally established for study of medicinal plants in the mid-16th century, they morphed into active sites for introduction, cultivation and dissemination of economically important crops during European expansion of colonies in Asia, America and Africa during the 17th to 19th centuries. During the second half of the 20th century, importance was placed on the need for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. In the 21st century, botanic gardens are challenged to address issues that extend beyond the garden walls by placing social and environmental responsibility as key mission drivers.

Full text

The role of botanic gardens in the twenty-first century
y
S. Krishnan
1
* and A. Novy
2,3
Address:
1
Denver Botanic Gardens, 909 York Street, Denver, Colorado 80206, USA.
2
United States Botanic Garden, 245 First Street,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20024, USA.
3
Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C. 20013, USA.
*Correspondence: S. Krishnan. Email: saradakrishnan@msn.com
Received: 4 March 2016
Accepted: 3 May 2016
doi: 10.1079/PAVSNNR201611023
The electronic version of this article is the definitive one. It is located here: http://www.cabi.org/cabreviews
© CAB International 2016 (Online ISSN 1749-8848)
Abstract
Botanic gardens and their functions and role in society have evolved over time. Originally established
for study of medicinal plants in the mid-sixteenth century, they morphed into active sites for
introduction, cultivation and dissemination of economically important crops during European
expansion of colonies in Asia, America and Africa during the seventeenth–nineteenth centuries.
During the second half of the twentieth century, importance was placed on the need for
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. In the twenty-first century, botanic gardens are
challenged to address issues that extend beyond the garden walls by placing social and environmental
responsibility as key mission drivers.
Keywords: Botanic gardens, Living collections, Plant conservation, Human well-being, Herbaria
Review Methodology: Literature search for this review paper was done using the Web of Science database using the search
terms “botanic gardens”as well as drawing from the authors’considerable expertise on the subject and familiarity with the relevant
literature
Introduction
Cultivating plants for food and pleasure is as ancient
as the civilization of human societies. Throughout the
rise of human societies and culture, evidence of gardens
is recorded in archaeological findings coinciding with
the development of agriculture and horticulture. Notable
among these are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Shalimar
Gardens in Lahore, the gardens of Cyrus the Great at
Pasargadae in Iran, the monumental gardens of the Aztecs
in Mesoamerica, the Moghul gardens of India and Pakistan,
and the gardens at Versailles near Paris. All these were
examples of pleasure gardens demonstrating power, wealth
and social control [1].
Early botanic gardens, dating back to the middle of the
sixteenth century, were physic gardens established for the
study of medicinal plants at European universities [2–4].
These early gardens were located in Italy in Pisa (1543),
Padua (1545) and Florence (1550); Germany in Leipzig
(1580); and the Netherlands in Leiden (1590) [3]. Early
gardens were laid out by economic use reflecting the cul-
ture of the time and often in Linnaean order by the 18th
century to show plant taxonomic relationships [2]. During
the age of European expansion and exploration in Asia,
America and Africa in the seventeenth–nineteenth century,
botanic gardens became centres of trade where seeds and
fruits were brought from distant lands, actively participating
in the introduction and acclimatization of newly discovered
economically important plants such as tulips in Europe and
cultivation, propagation and dissemination of tropical plan-
tation crops to and between European colonies [3–4]. Some
examples of crops introduced to colonies include coffee
(Coffea arabica), rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) and quinine
(Cinchona spp.) [3]. It is important to note that many of the
leading European botanical gardens of this era were
yThe opinions expressed in this article are the authors’own. The opinions
of authors who are employees of the United States government do not
necessarily reflect the views of the government
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important arms of colonial expansion and power,
effecting technology transfer of useful plants (typically
between tropical parts of the world) for the benefit of
colonial actors [5]. In addition, basic scientific study,
including taxonomy and description of newly discovered
exotic plants, was conducted in botanic gardens and
their associated herbaria such as Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew in the UK and the Hortus Botanicus Leiden in the
Netherlands. Since the mid-eighteenth century, botanic
gardens have tried to ‘contain all the plants known on
Earth,’a vision of the Third Earl of Bute for the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew [4].
In the second half of the twentieth century, increased
awareness of biodiversity loss and ecosystem function led
to greater focus on conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity [3]. This spurred establishment of standardized
methods for ex situ conservation in living collections and in
seed banks as well as public education in raising awareness
for sustainability [3]. Many gardens also began involvement
in in situ conservation and ecological restoration in order
to achieve plant biodiversity conservation goals outside of
their walls since it is not possible for gardens to internally
maintain the genetic diversity necessary to sustain ecolo-
gically functional populations of every species of conserva-
tion concern. As gardens evolve in the twenty-first century
and expand programs beyond their own walls, botanical
institutions will face a complex and dynamic landscape.
Society’s understanding of biological diversity and its utility
are expanding and widening rapidly as are international legal
regimes governing the use of biodiversity. For example,
gardens must follow international rules and regulations
such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the
Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and
Benefit-Sharing, the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and a
host of other international and national laws and regu-
lations. With the rapid loss of biodiversity and the even
more rapid urbanization of human populations, the need
for institutions dedicated to conservation of plant bio-
diversity and education of urban citizens who live far from
the biodiversity on which their lives depend has never
been stronger. However, significant challenges lie ahead for
botanic gardens as they expand out into a more complex
world where the stakes of conservation success and failure
seem to increase exponentially.
Current Trends in Botanic Gardens
Early on, botanic gardens were defined as ‘places open to
the public and in which plants were labelled’[4]. Avery [2]
described botanic gardens as primarily being outdoor
collection of labelled living plants in aesthetic landscapes,
playing passive roles in their communities. Sixty years ago,
Avery [2] concluded that we should be formulating a new
socially-slated botany for the education and enjoyment
of all and that botanists live up to their responsibilities
in contemporary society. Even though many botanic
gardens are historical heritage sites today, they are by no
means relicts of the past [6]. Presently, botanic gardens
have evolved to include expanded programming such as
conservation of plant biodiversity (serving as invaluable
repositories of plant germplasm for long-term preservation
of species), research and education (for both scientific
specialists and the general public) and creation of urban
refuges for wildlife and humans [4, 6]. Maunder [7] noted
that in a hundred years, botanic gardens will not be judged
by the number of relictual species maintained in their col-
lections as botanical ‘living dead’but rather by the number
of viable species and habitats surviving as a result of botanic
gardens’efforts and their contribution to economic and
social development.
Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI),
the world’s largest plant conservation network and
the lead organization for the Global Strategy on Plant
Conservation (GSPC), defines botanic gardens as
institutions holding documented collections of living plants for
the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display
and education and identifies the following criteria that an
organization needs to meet to be considered a botanic
garden [8]:
•A reasonable degree of permanence
•An underlying scientific basis for the collections
•Proper documentation of the collections, including
wild origin
•Monitoring of the plants in the collections
•Adequate labelling of the plants
•Open to the public
•Communication of information to other gardens,
institutions and the public
•Exchange of seed or other materials with other botanic
gardens, arboreta or research institutions
•Undertaking of scientific or technical research on plants
in the collections
•Maintenance of research programs in plant taxonomy in
associated herbaria.
Future Trends
Being socially relevant is becoming an important topic in
many cultural organizations. The role of botanic gardens
in expanding their social role, though still in its infancy, is
an emerging topic being discussed widely, though not
fully refined. There is increasing awareness and concern
about the impact of humans on the environment and their
intersection with social and environmental justice. In the
twenty-first century, more and more people are discon-
nected from their natural world. Botanic gardens can play a
major role in reconnecting their visitors and other con-
stituents through a variety of programming and research.
Even though botanic gardens are taking action, much more
can be done. To achieve change, Dodd and Jones [9]
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identified the following key areas that need to be addressed
to become socially relevant:
•Broadening audience (audience development)
•Enhancing relevance to communities and meeting their
needs
•Education
•Research which has socio-economic impact locally and
globally
•Contributing to public and political debates on the
environment
•Modelling sustainable behaviour
•Actively changing attitudes and behaviour.
BGCI’sCommunities in Nature program, supported by the
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (CGF), found that there is
a lack of integration of the social role in the mission, vision
and strategy of gardens. Additionally, many garden pro-
grams focused on environment issues and not social inclu-
sion. Key challenges identified in growing the social role of
botanic gardens are a lack of commitment from leadership
and lack of sustained funding [10]. BGCI’s new manual
‘Caring for your community’[11] is an excellent resource
for botanic garden professionals interested in developing
the social role of their gardens through public engagement.
To become relevant in our current society, botanic
gardens should evolve from the traditional models of
cloistered research and horticulture, which have histori-
cally been perceived as being socially elite, to institutions
that are more inclusive through adoption of socially rele-
vant and diverse programs with broad nexus to society. Key
program categories in botanic gardens such as public
recreation, horticulture, plant research and education and
outreach are discussed below, though they are not listed in
any specific priority. The various subdivisions within these
key categories overlap and complement each other for the
delivery of sustained, relevant programming as depicted
in Figure 1.
Public Recreation
In urban areas, public recreations through aesthetic
horticultural displays have always played on important
role in the institutional mission [3]. Not all gardens have
the resources (monetary or staff) to undertake rigorous
Figure 1. Key program categories with overlapping and complimentary subdivisions offered in a botanic garden.
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scientific research or conservation programs. Many exist
mainly as a place of reprieve and recreation for the general
public. By creating recreational programs relevant to major
botanical issues and a broader community, the opportunity
to expand both audiences and impact exists.
Exhibitions
As funding daily operations of botanic gardens becomes
more challenging, primarily due to increasing labour costs,
a paucity of advanced horticultural skills and decreased
public funding, many gardens look for creative ways to earn
new revenue. Annual exhibitions of art and temporary
displays have become common and are very successful in
growing garden memberships and repeat visitation. Art
exhibited among colourful horticultural displays enhance
both the plantings as well as the works of art. While
drawing people in for the art, the botanical displays also
tend to captivate the audience, reaching a diverse audience
that otherwise would not have visited the gardens. Gardens
also make for an attractive venue for seasonal concerts.
However, utilizing botanic gardens as backdrops for
other art forms must be carefully considered. While
increasing visitorship and revenue are key for any gardens’
fiscal stability, expanding into non-botanical or non-
environmentally themed programming can have the effect
of diluting the key messages and mission of the botanic
garden. While terms like ‘visitor amenity’have been
adopted to enhance the accessibility and pleasure a
garden may represent, little work has been done to deter-
mine exactly how various form of recreation and amenities
enhance or subtract from gardens’core missions. Without
deeper study in this area, botanic garden leaders will find it
difficult to parse activities designed to address fiscal con-
cerns from programs that meet core mission requirements.
While such study is being pursued, it may be wise for
gardens to consider ways to combine non-botanical ele-
ments, such as sculpture and theater, with botanical con-
cepts to both broaden institutional appeal across wider
audiences and enhance mission based activities. Artistic
exhibits focusing on plant related subjects, such as artist
David Rogers’Big Bugs, showcase sculpture in the form
of pollinators and other insects that both delight visitors’
artistic sensibilities while providing additional avenues
of interpretation for plant related programs. Similarly, the
U.S. Botanic Garden has recently partnered with the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to develop
original, botanically themed educational theater pieces
titled The Cerulean Time Capsule and Flowers Stink, both of
which were designed to be performed in garden spaces
while connecting visitors to the botanical world.
Health and Wellness
Botanic Gardens offer tremendous resources for wellness
programs. At the most basic level, they are wonderful
environments for physical activity. For example, the Royal
Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia is a jogging mecca
with millions of joggers per year. Moving forward gardens
are advancing health and wellness activities that are
specifically designed to relate to the culture and heritage
of their community. The Queens Botanical Garden in
Queens, New York, for example, is surrounded by a large
Asian-American community. As such, the garden specifi-
cally sets aside a location for tai chi every morning. It is
becoming more and more common to see a variety of
wellness programs at botanic gardens, from yoga classes to
walking programs for new mothers and their infants.
Working with the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center,
Denver Botanic Gardens offers a program for cancer
patients, family and caregivers using bonsai as a metaphor of
life. By finding beauty in a scraggly plant, the art of bonsai
offers patients lessons in gardening and life.
One of the most exciting innovations for encouraging
life-long health and wellness in botanical gardens is
the modern approach to children's gardens. While early
children's gardens go back to the first half of the twentieth
century, Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Children Garden
was opened in 1914, as time goes on there is a concerted
effort to make sure new children's gardens are specifically
designed to not only instill an appreciation of plants and
nature in kids, but also to improve manual dexterity
and active behavior. The Family Garden at the Lady Bird
Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas opened in
2014 and features a variety of designed elements that
promote active play to enhance children's' physical devel-
opment. Moving forward, children's gardens will continue
to build on exciting collaborations with designers and
architects to provide spaces that encourage children to
engage in climbing, jumping, balancing, exploring and other
active play activities that will benefit their physical and
emotional development.
Horticulture
Botanic gardens’plant displays consist of diverse species
from all over the world in a limited area. These create
unique species assemblages that one would never find
in natural environments [12]. Knowledge of sustainable
horticultural practices are critical to responsibly maintain
such displays and provide tremendous opportunity to
educate the public on horticultural techniques that can be
adopted by others with positive impacts on environmental
health.
Displays
Plant collections in a botanic garden can be displayed
in numerous ways. Early botanic gardens had a scientific
underpinning to the exhibition of their living collection by
displaying them as taxonomic or systematic assemblages.
In contemporary botanic gardens, this has morphed into
assembling plants in thematic displays in naturalistic or
formal designs, though without losing the scientific basis of
the collections. In many cases plant assemblages reflect a
specific ecosystem, emphasizing plant adaptations to these
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ecosystems. Displays showcasing economically important
plants as well as plants with ethnobotanical interests are
common. Displays should be informed by their audience,
use, scientific and conservation classification, ecological
attributes, beauty, design and educational value.
Plant Introduction
For the past 400 years, botanic gardens have served as plant
introduction centers playing a major role in the spread of
germplasm for agriculture, forestry, economic and orna-
mental plants around the world, helping establish agricul-
tural economies in several tropical and subtropical
countries. With the establishment of formal agricultural
stations in the early twentieth century, the role of botanic
gardens in plant introduction, except for ornamental plants,
largely disappeared. In the face of global demographic
and climatic changes, reasserting this role of assessing and
introducing new germplasm of ornamental and economi-
cally important plants by botanic gardens will become even
more important. To advance contemporary plant intro-
duction programs, Heywood [13] identified the following
steps:
•Germplasm targets should be broadened to include
underutilized crops, making a contribution to improved
health and nutrition, food security, livelihoods and eco-
logical sustainability
•Closer cooperation with agricultural genebanks, genetic
resource communities, and the nursery industry
•Agreement between botanic gardens and the agriculture
sector and other collaborators identifying their individual
responsibilities in order to avoid duplication of efforts
•The quality and sampling of accessions should be strictly
controlled with protocols established for proper sampl-
ing, storage and testing
•Proper evaluation of introductions before they are
disseminated in order to screen new introductions for
potential risk as invasive species
•Information on the accessions of the introduced plants
and their fate needs to be well managed and disseminated
such that information is assembled and documented
within the global network for access and future use by
any interested party
•Adherence to guidelines and codes of conduct for
plant introductions by botanic gardens in association
with other agencies such as the Convention on Biological
Diversity.
Sustainable Horticulture
Currently, some of the most advanced work on sustain-
able horticultural education is coming out of botanic
gardens. For example, the Sustainable SITES Initiative
(sustainablesites.org) is the result of a collaboration of the
American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird
Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at
Austin and the US Botanic Garden. This program devel-
oped over 9 years to present a LEED (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design) like certification system for
landscape design and engineering professionals that create
a marketplace for sustainable landscape design and con-
struction. The program is currently administered by the
US Green Business Certification Institute, which is also the
certifier for LEED. Programs like SITES, and its homeowner
companion Landscape for Life (Landscapeforlife.org),
provide some of the best practical education for a public
hungry for reputable strategies for sustainable horticulture.
Gardens are critically placed to set examples for a variety
of best management practices across multiple areas
of sustainability. As centers of horticultural excellence
with knowledgeable staff, botanic gardens are often the first
to notice new invasive pests. Working with the National
Plant Diagnostic Network, the American Public Gardens
Association set up the Sentinel Plant Network (http://www.
sentinelplantnetwork.org/) in 2010 which facilitates the
early detection of high-consequence plant pests and patho-
gens to protect plants throughout the country. In addition,
botanic gardens are leading the way through pledging not to
use invasive species in their displays and providing some
of the most visible examples of wildlife supporting horti-
culture through programs such as the Million Pollinator
Garden Challenge (http://millionpollinatorgardens.org/).
Looking forward, botanic gardens will continue to adjust
their horticultural displays to provide ever more advanced
examples of horticultural systems that mimic natural
ecosystems. The ultimate goal will be garden spaces that
utilize the processes of succession, biogeochemical cycling
and evolution to create resilient and self-sustaining
landscapes.
Plant Collections Management
Core to any botanic garden is its living plant collections. An
important characteristic that differentiates botanic gardens
from ornamental gardens or parks is the scientific under-
pinning of its living plant collections [3]. Plant collections
need to meet defined quality control standards, which are
usually governed by a comprehensive Collections Policy [14].
Hohn [15] identified three documents that guide well-
managed collections insuring adherence to the institution’s
mission –a collections management policy, a collections
management manual and a collections plan.
As institutions grow, it becomes necessary for each
garden to rethink their collections management and expan-
sion policies, prioritizing whether they are for research,
conservation, and/or educational purposes based on space
availability, staff resources and fiscal sustainability [16]. This
will encourage better management and utility of unfocused
collections that may represent inefficient resource use.
In particular, the pool of both internal and external
researchers utilizing collections should be expanded so as
to reverse trends in the dwindling support and use of living
collections [17]. Effective collections management is key
for the accessibility and utility of living collections for
research, conservation, horticulture and education [18].
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Plant Records in a botanic garden will help ensure that
the plant collections are named and labelled accurately
and documented and tracked in a plant records database.
Periodic plant name verification is conducted in order to
confirm an existing name, change an existing name to
another name or to determine the identity of an unknown
plant. This involves checking validity of names according to
the code of botanical and horticultural nomenclature rep-
resenting accepted taxa. Though slow and time consuming,
verification is a fundamental task of curating and maintaining
the integrity of a botanic garden collection [14], especially
since the explosion of molecular genetic research has
elucidated phylogenetic relationships between species and
driven taxonomic corrections.
Plant Research
The level of plant research conducted in a botanic garden
depends on available resources. Research can be conducted
through affiliations with universities, independent research-
ers, NGO's, industry, government agencies and/or through
local and national networks.
Taxonomic and Systematics studies using Botanic
Gardens’Collections
Herbaria and living collections held in botanic gardens
constitute a data bank of our planet’s plant life and play a
key role in advancing the knowledge of biological diversity.
Unfortunately, living collections are underutilized for
research purposes, which could lead to the risk of losing
relevance in the scientific community [17]. Many herbaria
located in botanic gardens serve the purpose of support-
ing scientific studies in the identification and classification
of species [16]. The Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
(MNHN) in Paris, utilizing the tropical living collections at
their Département des Jardins Botaniques et Zoologiques
(DJBZ) and the herbarium at their Département
Systématique et Evolution (DSE), contribute to achieving
Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
(GSPC) [16]. The original GSPC Target 1 aimed to develop
‘a widely accessible working list of known plant species as a
step towards a complete world flora,’most of which have
been achieved. The new 2020 target aims to develop an
online flora of all plants [19].
Living collections serve a complementary role for field-
work and herbarium studies. For plants not easily pre-
served as herbarium specimens, the study of living
collections is valuable for the development of monographs
and floras. They are also valuable for systematic, molecular
and phylogenetic studies and enable the study of plants
whose original locality has been destroyed or is inaccessible
[16]. In addition, they also serve as an excellent source for
research in biogeography, plant physiology, pharmaceutical
biology, conservation and restoration research [3] and can
be executed by gardens of varying size [17].
Restoration Ecology
In the twenty-first century, degradation and loss of eco-
systems and landscapes is of major concern for humanity,
especially those vulnerable to climate change [20]. There is
a need and opportunity for biological and physical scientists
to help improve degraded ecosystems thorough implemen-
tation of on-the-ground restoration with botanic gardens
playing a leading role [20]. Botanic gardens are well posi-
tioned in this arena since many of the disciplines essential
for practicing restoration ecology are already represented
in botanic gardens such as plant taxonomy, horticulture,
DNA fingerprinting, geographical information systems,
seed banking and seed science, conservation biology and
genetics, plant physiology, mycology, etc. [20]. By building
on their preexisting core strengths, botanic gardens can
play a big role in applied sciences such as ecological
restoration and continue their excellence in basic plant
sciences such as phylogenetics, biogeography and evol-
utionary biology.
Conservation
Modern botanic gardens contribute to the sustainable
development of our societies by serving as centres of plant
conservation, research and education [3]. Though living
collections safeguard plant germplasm, they are often
underutilized for plant conservation [18]. The need for
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity became
globally recognized by botanic gardens in the second half of
the twentieth century with many gardens becoming actively
engaged in the conservation of rare and threatened
plant species. Establishment of standardized protocols
for ex situ conservation of genetic diversity of rare and
threatened species in living collections or in seed banks
is currently being undertaken by botanic gardens, which
should be seen as complimentary approaches to in situ
conservation [3].
Ex situ collections of plants of conservation concern in
a botanic garden fall into one of two categories –those
collected intentionally with clear conservation objectives
and those that have been collected and maintained over a
period of time in an ‘ad hoc’manner. For ex situ con-
servation collections to be of value in conservation and
recovery programs, they need to have certain qualities such
as known provenance and genetic diversity representative
of wild populations [14].
Given limited resources, the value of living collections
should be assessed so as to create collections priorities.
Cibrian-Jaramillo et al. [18] identified three main indi-
cators in assessing the value of living collections for plant
conservation: (1) information of species imperilment;
(2) genetic representation; and (3) operation costs associ-
ated with maintaining the genetic representation. They
proposed a strategy for conservation of threatened species
through efficient and sustainable use of living collections by
assigning an integrated Conservation Value for each species
derived from species threat rank, genetic tools and their
association to the operational costs of maintaining a living
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collection. This study compliments earlier work by Namoff
et al. [21] which established that greater genetic diversity is
conserved in larger collections, genetic capture increases at
a diminishing rate as collection size increases, and increased
investment in a collection as determined by more plants
maintained does not increase the ex situ conservation value
of a collection at a certain point.
With over 700 member institutions in 118 countries,
BGCI, the centre of a global network of gardens, has docu-
mented over 150 000 plants in cultivation in botanic
gardens, thousands of which are threatened with extinction
in the wild [4]. National and international networks like
the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) and
BGCI significantly increase the impact of individual botanic
gardens in conservation, research and education [3]. These
networks allow for exchange of knowledge and expertise,
sharing of plant germplasm, identification of collections
gaps, and development of standards and codes of conduct
[3]. The International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in
Conservation and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation
(GSPC) are two documents guiding conservation in botanic
gardens.
With the adoption of the GSPC under the United
Nations Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2002,
the field of plant conservation has seen remarkable trans-
formation with many botanic gardens worldwide playing
an important role and implementing new initiatives [22].
The strategy outlined 16 outcome-oriented targets to
be achieved by 2010. Post 2010, the updated GSPC
2011–2020 was created within the broader framework
of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 outlining
five objectives and 16 targets [19]. Commitment and
adherence to these targets by botanic gardens will be key
to achieve desired conservation outcomes.
Climate Change
Botanic gardens are well positioned to provide a leadership
role in climate change research and education because of
their diverse plant collections from wide geographic areas
and their knowledge and data on plant systematics, distrib-
ution and physiology [23–24]. Primack and Miller-Rushing
[24] identified five unique characteristics of botanic gardens
that provide important contributions to climate change
research: 1) by growing a wide variety of plant species
together in one place, botanic gardens represent valuable
common garden experiments; 2) by growing diverse spe-
cies together from different geographic regions of the
world that would not be found growing together under
natural conditions representing diversity and broad taxo-
nomic representation, these collections facilitate compara-
tive ecological, evolutionary and phylogenetic studies;
3) the meticulous record keeping of phenology and horti-
cultural attributes combined with systematics research help
track spring flowering and leafing out times and their links
to temperature and climate change; 4) plant trading
among the global network of botanic gardens has resulted
in the growing of genetically similar or identical specimens
at various locations throughout the world helping track
growth characteristics under a wide range of conditions;
and 5) knowledgeable staff at botanic gardens make valuable
members of interdisciplinary research teams and are in a
special position to convey the impacts of climate change to
the public.
In addition to living collections, herbarium collections
and photographs are also valuable tools for studying climate
change and plants’responses [24]. Responses of plants to
changing climate can be documented by examining past
flowering information from herbarium specimens and com-
paring them with present flowering information [24]. Dated
photographs when compared with current observations
can also informative in examining impacts of temperature
on flowering times to see if plants are now flowering earlier
than in the past [24].
Education and Outreach
Botanic gardens play an important role in raising public
awareness about threats to plant diversity and the con-
sequences of biodiversity loss on human well-being [3].
Botanic gardens worldwide reach over 200 million people
each year and represent a huge opportunity for providing
informal education to a broad spectrum of society about
the crucial role of plants in supporting ecosystem and
human health [3, 6]. Programs targeting specific audiences
such as children, adults and professional educators should
continue to be developed and advanced.
Education
Education in botanic gardens can come in a variety of forms:
children’s summer camp, family programs, school programs
such as field trips, teacher training and development, adult
education and certification programs as well and student
internships. Programming, or mediating visitor experiences,
is influenced by the quality of the program and the oppor-
tunity for the participants to make personal connections.
Features influencing the success of programs include: place-
based programs that relate to a particular location moti-
vating interest; project-based programs that use hands-on,
interactive approaches; developmentally appropriate pro-
grams that meet the needs of the specific audience served;
internal collaborations utilizing the expertise of multiple
departments within the gardens; programs linked to local
school curricular standards; and periodic program evalu-
ation to ensure the programs are meeting intended
goals [25].
Adult education programs within botanic gardens
are also diverse, varying with the audiences they serve.
Many gardens offer continuing education programs, under-
graduate and graduate programs, student internships,
teacher professional development and certification pro-
grams. Comprehensive planning, exceptional customer
service, quality instruction and facilities, and continuous
evaluation drive the success of adult education programs
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[26] and all education programs. Citizen science is another
emerging area of engaging the community in science,
leading to individual stewardship of the environment and
adoption of sustainable practices through hands-on
participation.
Food Security
Our world population is expected to exceed nine billion
people by 2050. Feeding nine billion people in an era of
climate change and loss of biodiversity is an important topic
that is currently being addressed through various fora.
Meeting this challenge will require concerted efforts
addressing complex social, environmental and economic
issues. With the urbanization of our society, knowledge
about agricultural systems and growing food plants is
waning. Located predominantly in urban areas, botanic
gardens are well placed to play a critical role in addressing
the issue of food security [27].
Display of agricultural plants in botanic gardens is not
a new concept. In fact, the role of botanic gardens as field
museums of agriculture was proposed in the early twentieth
century [28]. Today, many botanic gardens display individ-
ual food plants, often in the tradition of the Victorian exotic
aesthetic, though few botanical institutions display food
crops in the context of production agriculture. None-
theless, botanic gardens are well positioned to educate the
public by providing the full picture of the agricultural
landscape through presenting crop plants and agricultural
technologies common on farms such as agrochemical use,
conventional and sustainable cropping systems, biotechnol-
ogy and mechanization. Such representations of agriculture
in the population centres where botanic gardens are
located are necessary to educate the public so that they
can participate in democratic processes relating to the
future of food and agriculture. In order to improve their
capacity to present agriculture more comprehensively,
botanic gardens should form partnerships with land grant
universities and other institutions with active research and
programs in agriculture, federal and state agriculture
departments, industry groups, farmers’organizations and
international agricultural organizations [27]. While there
are a handful of botanic gardens that are large enough
to support independent research activities in agricultural
development and seed banking, most institutions will be
able to make the greatest impact on food security through
education, spearheading community involvement in agri-
cultural issues and collaboration with the already extensive
network of agricultural research institutions.
Many botanic gardens are involved in projects working
with local communities to improve nutrition and access to
food by educating people about useful plants, cultivation
techniques and their use. By promoting home and
community gardens, these projects improve nutrition and
health in their target communities [29]. Through the Urban
Food Initiatives program and Windy City Harvest, Denver
Botanic Gardens and Chicago Botanic Garden respectively
are leaders in urban agricultural training in the United
States. By offering hands-on training, other institutions can
follow these forward-thinking examples in training urba-
nites to grow and prepare food, manage urban agriculture
businesses and improve nutritional availability and health
outcomes.
Horticultural Therapy and Human Well-being
Botanic gardens have aspects of nature and leisure offering
unique experiences that may impact visitors’individual
well-being [30]. As aesthetically pleasing physical environ-
ments, gardens can be utilized to reduce social challenges
brought about by various societal stresses, thereby increas-
ing the well-being of people such as increased life expec-
tancy [6]. Kohlleppel et al. [30] cite work by Owen in 1994
who measured the blood pressure of visitorsto the Wichita
Gardens in Kansas and found a decrease in the systolic
blood pressure significantly after their visit and by Bennett
in 1995 who found a decrease in perceived stress by most
visitors to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the New York
Botanical Garden. The study by Kohlleppel et al. [30]
conducted at three botanic gardens in Florida found that
botanic gardens could be places for coping with the effects
of stress. The literature on the curative impacts of exposure
to green spaces and plants continues to grow with mean-
ingful advances in relation to cognitive health [31], mental
health [32], depression [33] and recovery from surgery
[34]. As our understanding in this burgeoning science on
the myriad physical and psychological effects of interaction
with nature improves, gardens should make concerted
efforts to both incorporate them into their own programs
and disseminate this important knowledge.
Target 13 of the GSPC states that indigenous and local
knowledge, innovations and practices associated with plant
resources, maintained or increased, as appropriate, to support
customary use, sustainable livelihoods, local food security
and health care [19]. BGCI identifies four categories of
human well-being that the international network of botanic
gardens can impact: (1) improving nutrition, (2) improving
health care, (3) financial poverty alleviation (providing
opportunities for income generation and financial security)
and (4) social and community benefits (improving the
quality of life through non-material benefits). Many commu-
nities around the world do not have access to conventional
western medicine and depend on plant-based medicines. By
working directly with these communities and empowering
them to safeguard these plants, botanic gardens can play a
significant role in improving access to them through
demonstrations and training. By utilizing the expertise
and resources of botanic gardens, they can contribute to
income generation and financial security by educating and
empowering local people on how to use plants and make
useful products for sale. Alternatively, botanic gardens in
developed countries can contribute to financial security of
communities in developing countries through purchase
of plant-based products for sale in their own gift shop while
equitably channeling resources back to the indigenous
communities that developed the products.
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Conclusion/Summary
Botanic gardens are important aesthetic, cultural and
scientific establishments that contribute to the well-being
of our society. In the twenty-first century, gardens will
play a critical role in addressing global issues such as
climate change, food security, biodiversity conservation,
environmental education, sustainability and human well-
being. To advance these expanded mission areas, gardens
will be challenged to address issues that extend beyond the
garden walls by placing social and environmental respon-
sibility as key institutional mission drivers. This will require
a new generation of trained professionals, with multi-
disciplinary training. In addition, adding these complex and
new initiatives into the already considerable efforts of
botanic gardens will represent a heavy burden on resource
availability of institutions. New methods of attracting and
generating revenue and other resources will need to be
developed in order to maximize the positive impact of
botanic gardens on society. Global, national and regional
networks of botanic gardens will play a key role in building
a platform for exchange of information and expertise.
The twenty-first century provides exciting opportunities
for botanic gardens in playing an important role in addres-
sing societal issues leading to positive impacts within
communities.
Acknowledgement
Our sincere thanks to Theresa Dahlman for creating
Figure 1 and to two anonymous reviewers whose com-
ments greatly improved this manuscript.
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