The global distribution of plants used by humans

• DOI: 10.1126/science.adg8028
• Publication Date: 2024-01-18T18:59:12Z
• Authors: S. Pironon; I. Ondo; M. Diazgranados; R. Allkin; A. C. Baquero; R. Cámara-Leret; C. Canteiro; Z. Dennehy-Carr; R. Govaerts; S. Hargreaves; A. J. Hudson; R. Lemmens; W. Milliken; M. Nesbitt; K. Patmore; G. Schmelzer; R. M. Turner; T. R. van Andel; T. Ulian; A. Antonelli; K. J. Willis
• Keywords: Traditional Knowledge

Plants sustain human life. Understanding geographic patterns of the diversity species used by people is thus essential for sustainable management plant resources. Here, we investigate global distribution 35,687 utilized spanning 10 use categories (e.g., food, medicine, material). Our findings indicate general concordance between and total diversity, supporting potential simultaneously conserving its contributions to people. Although Indigenous lands across Mesoamerica, Horn Africa, Southern Asia harbor a disproportionate plants, incidence protected areas negatively correlated with richness. Finding mechanisms preserve containing concentrations plants traditional knowledge must become priority implementation Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.