Abstract Detail

Ethnobotany

Bartkovich, Louisa [1], Baumgardner, Aaron [2], Wadgymar, Susana [1].

Plant-centered transdisciplinary collaborations enable effective and equitable climate change mitigation and advance plant science.

The current climate crisis is generating and exacerbating complex environmental and societal issues that transcend scientific, technical, cultural, economic, and political spheres. Plants play a central role in climate mitigation and adaptation because they provide a stable global food supply, enable sustainable ecosystem function, and promote microbial, faunal, and fungal biodiversity. Thus, plants are a central focus of a myriad of disciplines and livelihoods such as city planning, sustainable farming, eco-tourism operations, and public health policies. We emphasize that plants are central to climate mitigation and adaptation policies and we propose that plant scientists should collaborate outside of traditional academic disciplinary boundaries to best address societal and environmental needs. Innovative transdisciplinary perspectives, methodologies, and resources can generate impactful, robust, and equitable solutions to wide-ranging climate-related concerns. Additionally, transdisciplinary approaches are well-suited to integrate the knowledge, needs, experiences, perspectives, concerns, and values of groups historically and deliberately excluded from scientific disciplines and policy decisions. Here, we critically emphasize the reciprocal advantages of transdisciplinary work for plant researchers and their collaborators by focusing on five vital outcomes necessary for the wellbeing of people and the environment under climate change: (1) sustainable and nutritious food supply, (2) climate-resilient industries and livelihoods, (3) meaningful and evidence-informed public health initiatives, (4) effective climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, and (5) reduced climatic burdens for vulnerable communities. We aim to illustrate that plant researchers can broaden their collaborative network and expand the impact of their research by providing examples of transdisciplinary collaborations that identify and address plant-related climate risks and vulnerabilities.

1 - Davidson College, Biology Department, 209 Ridge Rd., Biology Department, Davidson, NC, 28035, United States
2 - Catawba Indian Nation, Division of Natural Resources, 996 Avenue of the Nations, Rock Hill, SC, 29730, USA

Keywords:
collaboration
Equity
transdisciplinary
community-based
climate change
mitigation
communication
Outreach
agriculture
urban planning
policy
climatic burdens
Foraging
community garden.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Number: ETH1012
Abstract ID:1057
Candidate for Awards:None