World's Botanical Gardens Warn That They're Running Out Of Space To Harbor Endangered Plant Species

Botanic gardens around the world are failing to conserve the rarest and most threatened species growing in their living collections because they are running out of space, according to research from the University of Cambridge. Researchers analysed a century’s worth of records from 50 botanic gardens and arboreta, collectively growing half-a-million plants, to see how the world’s living plant collections have changed since 1921.

The results, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, suggest the world’s living collections have reached peak capacity, while international restrictions on plant collecting are impeding efforts to study and preserve global plant diversity.

Cambridge University Botanic Garden curator Prof Sam Brockington, who led the research, said: “Botanic gardens are full. We’re running out of space and resources. The rate at which plants are being listed as threatened is increasing much more rapidly than the rate at which we’re managing to respond. The risk of extinction is accelerating and our response is too slow.”

In 2020, research by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew found that 40% of the world’s plant species are at risk of extinction as a result of the destruction of the natural world. Now, botanic gardens around the world are struggling to find the space to conserve rare plants and save endangered species. “They can’t all fit,” said Brockington. Cambridge University Botanic Garden, for example, is home to more than 8,000 species. “That’s more than a tropical country like Vietnam, growing in a tiny little acreage of Cambridge.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/25/the-risk-of-extinction-is-accelerating-worlds-botanic-gardens-raise-alarm-with-space-to-protect-endangered-plants-running-out