Swamp Stomp
Volume 17, Issue 29
A new report published on Thursday, May 18th claims that the global agriculture industry could be losing $540 billion a year due to the spread of pests and pathogens that damage plant life.
The report was published by the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) at Kew in London. The report claimed that due to an increase in international trade and travel, flora has been left facing rising threats from invasive pests and pathogens. The report calls for greater biosecurity measures.
“Plants underpin all aspects of life on Earth from the air we breathe right through to our food, our crops, our medicines,” said Professor Kathy Willis, RBG Kew’s director of science.
“If you take one away, what happens to the rest of that ecosystem – how does it impact?”
The report also tries to determine what traits would help plant species cope with the climate changes.
The report finds that plants with deeper roots and higher wood density are more capable of withstanding a drought, while thicker leaves and taller grasses are better able to cope with higher temperatures.
The researchers were surprised to find that the traits that are likely to help species thrive appear to be transferable across different environments.
“The interesting fact to emerge is that the suite of ‘beneficial’ traits are, on the whole, the same the world over and are as true in a temperate forest as in a desert,” Professor Willis said in a statement.
The report was worked on by 128 scientists in 12 countries and found that 1,730 new plant species were discovered last year.
Of the 1,730 new plant species discovered, nine were of the climbing vine Mucuna which is used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The species were found and named across South East Asia and South and Central America.
Source: Hanrahan, Mark, and Matthew Stock. “Pests and Pathogens Could Cost Agriculture Billions: Report.” Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 18 May 2017. Web. 18 May 2017.