- A global study utilising AI to analyse eight million digitised plant specimens revealed that flowering times have shifted by an average of 2.5 days earlier or later per decade due to the climate crisis.
- The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has completed a four-year project to digitise its entire herbarium and fungarium, making 7.4 million specimens freely accessible online.
- This digitisation, combined with AI and other new technologies, is accelerating research into climate-resilient wild relatives of food plants, new medicines and sustainable alternatives.
- Kew's latest “State of the World’s Plants and Fungi” report warns that threats to plant and fungi species are significantly underestimated, with many undiscovered or facing extinction.
- Despite alarming figures, the report offers hope, highlighting the transformative power of AI and digitisation to boost knowledge, share information and enhance global conservation efforts.
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