Botanical gardens in climate change research

 By Richard B. Primack, Amanda Gallinat, Libby Ellwoood, and Abe Miller-Rushing 

“Do I not live in a garden – in paradise?  I can go out each morning before breakfast & do & and gather flowers, with which to perfume my chamber where I read & write all day.” 

- Henry David Thoreau in his Journal 

In a recent article published in the New Phytologist, we describe the vital and growing contribution of botanical gardens to climate change research, conservation, and public engagement. Botanical gardens host unique resources, including diverse collections of plant species growing in natural conditions and historical records. 

Amanda Gallinat recording fruiting times at the Arnold Arboretum

Researchers utilize networks of botanical garden networks to assess the phenological (timing) responses to climate change of hundreds of plants species. Associated studies include anatomical and physiological  characteristics. 

Launching a drone to monitor leaf out of trees at the Arnold Arboretum

New methods enhance the pace and impact of this research, including phylogenetic analyses that include evolutionary relatedness. Remotely controlled drones are used for monitoring the tree canopy.
 

Students recording phenology at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Botanical gardens have grown their citizen science programs, informing the public about climate change and monitoring plants more intensively than previously possible. 

Buzz about Newton Bees

By Richard B. Primack
 

“Possibly the day will come when the [landscape] will be partitioned off into so-called pleasure grounds, in which only a few will take a narrow and exclusive pleasure only.” 

- Henry David Thoreau in Excursions.

 
Honeybees and their hives inhabit many of Newton’s open spaces. The hives, which are licensed by the City, produce honey. Some beekeepers also place hives in classrooms allowing students to observe the hive through glass windows while bees forage outside via an external entrance.

Honeybee hive in Newton. 

 
The Newton Conservation Commission is discussing a new policy to ensure that beekeeping on conservation land conforms to best practices, including beekeepers having state licenses, registering hives, and annual state inspections for hives health.
 

Honeybees at hive entrance.

 
The commission is also deciding how many hives will be allowed per park due to their potential impacts on native bees, such as bumblebees and smaller solitary bees, and other pollinating insects, including butterflies.
 
Some members of Newton’s informal pollinator working group want the number of honeybee hives on conservation land reduced or even eliminated, arguing that domesticated honeybees, which are native to Europe, are not appropriate for conservation land.
 
A related concern is the danger to both native bees and honeybees presented by herbicides and pesticides which are widely applied to Newton’s lawns, golf courses and plantings. Should the use of these chemicals be more closely regulated and restricted?
 
This is shortened version of an article that appeared in the Newton Tab.