Climate change is already having substantial effects on natural systems and the benefits they provide. It is important to understand how climate change may intensify through this century in order to prepare for future changes. This application features...

The City’s Food Equity Agenda is a multi-year effort, crafted in partnership with a cross-section of community and City representatives, to transform the food system by removing barriers to urban farming, supporting BIPOC food entrepreneurs, and better...

The contributions of crop wild relatives (CWR) to food security depend on their conservation and accessibility for use. The United States contains a diverse native flora of CWR, including those of
important cereal, fruit, nut, oil, pulse, root...

Today's genebanks are essential to maintaining the resilience of the global agricultural system in the face of climate change, new pests and diseases, shifts in trade and dietary preferences, natural
resource limitations, and armed conflicts....

Cooperative Extension programs across the United States are embracing food systems and local food as a new topic area. Previous studies indicate that successful local food programming requires cross program collaboration. However, research in this area...

Developing new genotypes of plants is one of the key options for adaptation of agriculture to climate change. Plants may be required to provide resilience in changed climates or support
the migration of agriculture to new regions. Very different...

North America’s agricultural and natural landscapes are vital to feeding humanity—they are home to many populations of important food plants and their wild relatives. Climate change is projected to significantly impact the agricultural sector and any...

Biodiversity in and across food and agriculture systems provides tremendous value to present and future generations. However, across the world we are losing genes, species, and ecosystems faster than we can account for them. With one million plant and...

Across the United States, a growing number of schools and educational programs are planting gardens, engaging in Farm to School activities, and integrating plant science into the curriculum. To support and expand these hands-on learning activities,...

Crop wild relatives, the wild progenitors and closely related cousins of cultivated plant
species, are sources of valuable genetic resources for crop improvement. Persisting gaps
in knowledge of taxonomy, distributions, and...

Urbanization, lack of contact with the natural world, and growing up removed from agriculture has contributed to a void of knowledge relating to food and food production, along with a phenomenon known as plant blindness. We sought to change this lack...

Of the myriad gifts plants provide to humanity, food is among the most visible, as everyone needs to eat, every single day. Due to their universal importance, food and agricultural plants would appear to represent ideal entryways to address plant...

Care farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices to provide health, social
or educational care services for a range of groups of vulnerable people. This includes
but is not limited to those with mental health problems, people...

China is home to an astounding number of species, 31,500, and 12 percent of these species
can be found only in China. The Missouri Botanical Garden, working with an international
team and the Chinese government for 25 years, is on track...

Successful programs of crop wild relative (CWR) exploration, conservation, and utilization are ultimately dependent on sustained public prioritization and support, which in turn requires public awareness and engagement. Here we discuss the importance...

Canada is home to about 5087 species of higher plants of which 25% were introduced to Canada either deliberately or by accident. The richness of botanical species is highest in the southern, more densely settled parts of the country. About 364 native...

The power of citizen science to contribute to both science and society is gaining increased recognition, particularly in physics and biology. Although there is a long history of public engagement in agriculture and food science, the term ‘citizen...

As indoor horticulture gathers momentum, electric (also termed artificial) lighting systems with the ability to generate specific and tunable wavelengths have been developed and applied. While the effects of light quality on plant growth and...

The American Public Gardens Association (the Association) and the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) set out to collaborate and conduct this study to understand the extent of urban agriculture program impacts. The goals of this research were to...

Originating in Europe in the 16th century, botanic gardens are found in nearly every country in the world. Botanic gardens have had various roles during this time, including as physic gardens, as adaptation centers for commercial crops, as pleasure...