The 2030 Declaration on Scientific Plant and Fungal Collecting

Societal Impact Statement Biological samples and their associated information are an essential resource used by scientists, governments, policymakers, practitioners and communities to ensure that biodiversity can be appropriately protected and sustainably used. Yet, considering the enormous task of documenting the vast numbers of as‐yet‐unknown plant and fungal species, greater international coordination for biological collecting and recording is necessary, built on equitable collecting practices and standards. Here, we propose five commitments to accelerate and enhance scientific knowledge of plant and fungal diversity, while increasing collaboration, benefit sharing and efficiency. Summary Almost all life depends on plants and fungi, making knowledge of their diversity and distribution—primarily derived from biological collections—fundamental to national and international conservation, restoration and sustainable use commitments. However, it is estimated that some 15% of all plant species and over 90% of all fungal species have not yet been scientifically described, hampering our ability to assess and demonstrate the impact of efforts to halt biodiversity loss. In addition, organisations and researchers around the world lack a concerted strategy for increasing complementarity and avoiding overlap in botanical and mycological research, particularly in relation to the collection of specimens. We here present the 2030 Declaration on Scientific Plant and Fungal Collecting, summarising a commitment towards such a necessary strategy. Its components were identified from discussions during and after a series of four workshops and plenary discussions at the 2023 State of the World's Plants and Fungi symposium convened by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and were then consolidated into the present form by the authors. The Declaration was subsequently opened up for endorsement by signatories. Collectively, we agree on a set of five commitments for cataloguing the world's flora and funga, designed to maximise efficiency, facilitate knowledge exchange and promote equitable collaborations: (1) use evidence‐based collection strategies; (2) strengthen local capacity; (3) collaborate across taxa and disciplines; (4) collect for the future; and (5) share the benefits. This Declaration is a first step towards increased global and regional coordination of scientific collecting efforts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Plants People Planet
Published
2024-09-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10569
Citations
12
Primary Topic
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
7.20

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article

The 2030 Declaration on Scientific Plant and Fungal Collecting

Sandro P Müller, Alan Paton, Kiran L. Dhanjal‐Adams, Dilzara N. Aghayeva et al.
12 citations
Plants People Planet
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
7.20
article

The 2030 Declaration on Scientific Plant and Fungal Collecting

Sandro P Müller, Alan Paton, Kiran L. Dhanjal‐Adams, Dilzara N. Aghayeva, Carmen Acedo, Daniele Silvestro, Wolf L. Eiserhardt, Juliana Lopes Souza, Alexandra H. Davey, Guillaume Gigot, Ian Ondo, Giuliana Furci, Marco Octávio de Oliveira Pellegrini, Darin S. Penneys, Jordan K. Teisher, Zigmantas Gudžinskas, Aída M. Vasco‐Palacios, David L. Hawksworth, Matheus Colli‐Silva, Ana Rita G. Simões, Sayyara İbadullayeva, Rachael V. Gallagher, Rodrigue Idohou, Félix Forest, Janaína Gomes‐da‐Silva, José Ignacio Márquez‐Corro, Karen L. Bacon, Monique S. J. Simmonds, Alexandre Antonelli, Patrick Weigelt, Emily B. Sessa, Rafaël Govaerts, China Williams, Fitiavana Rasaminirina, Diego T. Vasques, Alexandre Salino, Susana C. Gonçalves, Amanda Taylor, Marybel Soto Gomez, María Guadalupe Chávez-Hernández, Rowan F. Sage, Olwen M. Grace, Laura M. Suz, Joette Crosier, Isabel Larridon, Ester Gaya, Samuel Pironon, Rhian J. Smith, Raquel Negrão, Jakub D. Wieczorkowski, Laurynas Taura, Daniel V. Rafidimanana, Alessandro A. Agorini, Laila S. Al Harthy, Ramone Ramnath‐Budhram, Julie A. Reiske, Paul Y. Eguia, Tilahun G. Hailemikael, A. Martyn Ainsworth
article en
12 citations

Abstract

Societal Impact Statement Biological samples and their associated information are an essential resource used by scientists, governments, policymakers, practitioners and communities to ensure that biodiversity can be appropriately protected and sustainably used. Yet, considering the enormous task of documenting the vast numbers of as‐yet‐unknown plant and fungal species, greater international coordination for biological collecting and recording is necessary, built on equitable collecting practices and standards. Here, we propose five commitments to accelerate and enhance scientific knowledge of plant and fungal diversity, while increasing collaboration, benefit sharing and efficiency. Summary Almost all life depends on plants and fungi, making knowledge of their diversity and distribution—primarily derived from biological collections—fundamental to national and international conservation, restoration and sustainable use commitments. However, it is estimated that some 15% of all plant species and over 90% of all fungal species have not yet been scientifically described, hampering our ability to assess and demonstrate the impact of efforts to halt biodiversity loss. In addition, organisations and researchers around the world lack a concerted strategy for increasing complementarity and avoiding overlap in botanical and mycological research, particularly in relation to the collection of specimens. We here present the 2030 Declaration on Scientific Plant and Fungal Collecting, summarising a commitment towards such a necessary strategy. Its components were identified from discussions during and after a series of four workshops and plenary discussions at the 2023 State of the World's Plants and Fungi symposium convened by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and were then consolidated into the present form by the authors. The Declaration was subsequently opened up for endorsement by signatories. Collectively, we agree on a set of five commitments for cataloguing the world's flora and funga, designed to maximise efficiency, facilitate knowledge exchange and promote equitable collaborations: (1) use evidence‐based collection strategies; (2) strengthen local capacity; (3) collaborate across taxa and disciplines; (4) collect for the future; and (5) share the benefits. This Declaration is a first step towards increased global and regional coordination of scientific collecting efforts.

Plants People PlanetVol. 7(1)
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (BR), Natural History Museum (GB), University of Helsinki (FI), University of Antananarivo (MG), University of North Carolina Wilmington (US), University of Fribourg (CH), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (GB), Queen Mary University of London (GB), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (GB), University of Toronto (CA), Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway (IE), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (BR), Aarhus University (DK), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB), New York Botanical Garden (US), Missouri Botanical Garden (US), Denver Botanic Gardens (US), Natural Resources Institute Finland (FI), Ghent University (BE), Universidad de Antioquia (CO), University of Oxford (GB), Institute of Botany (AZ), Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership (MG), Muscat College (OM), Silab (France) (FR), Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (BR), Université d'Agriculture de Kétou (BJ), Nature Research Centre (LT), National Museums of Kenya (KE), Jilin Agricultural University (CN), Asociación Colombiana de Gastroenterología (CO), Structure et Instabilité des Génomes (FR), University of Southampton (GB), Western Sydney University (AU), University of Göttingen (DE), The University of Tokyo (JP), University of Coimbra (PT), University of Gondar (ET), University of Gothenburg (SE), Universidad de León (ES), Wageningen University & Research (NL), University of Edinburgh (GB)
National Science Foundation, Stiftelsen för Miljöstrategisk Forskning, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, Vetenskapsrådet, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Interactions
7.20
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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