Assessing impacts of climate change on trees and forests using field sampling, botanic garden collections, and citizen science

Both rare and common species from around the world are grown alongside each other in botanic gardens. This creates unique opportunities to directly compare species’ responses to climate while minimizing confounding effects of site differences. Combining on-site data with citizen science networks of observations made on trees in their natural habitats can help reveal what factors most influence tree traits, growth, and climate sensitivity. Through collaborations within and among gardens, information such as this can be directly integrated into threat assessments and help guide regional and global conservation strategies of rare and threatened species.