As the natural world faces accelerating threats from climate change and habitat loss, a new frontier is opening for botanists and mycologists: artificial intelligence (AI). Researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, have highlighted how AI and digitisation are transforming efforts to identify, understand, and ultimately protect vital plant and fungal species on the brink of extinction. This technological leap could prove decisive in the global race to conserve biodiversity, revealing previously hidden patterns and unlocking genetic data from specimens collected centuries ago.
Digitisation Unlocks Centuries of Botanical Knowledge
One of the most significant breakthroughs in recent years has been the mass digitisation of botanical collections. Kew Gardens alone has digitised its entire archive of 7.4 million specimens, including historic collections gathered by figures such as Charles Darwin. This monumental effort involved capturing tens of thousands of high-resolution images daily over several years, making these specimens accessible to researchers worldwide for the first time.
Beyond Kew, there are now approximately 145 million digital specimens globally, though this represents less than 16% of the total held in herbaria worldwide. The vast majority of plant and fungal specimens remain locked away in physical collections, creating substantial gaps in the global understanding of biodiversity—especially in regions rich in species diversity but historically under-studied, such as Madagascar and other parts of the global south.
Digitisation not only preserves fragile specimens but also facilitates international collaboration, allowing scientists to share data instantly and cross-reference findings from disparate collections. This is critical for countries with biodiversity hotspots, where many species remain undocumented or poorly understood.
AI Accelerates Identification and Reveals Shifting Ecological Patterns
AI’s ability to rapidly analyze vast datasets is revolutionizing species identification. Traditional taxonomy can be painstakingly slow, particularly for groups like sedges and peat mosses, whose key features are microscopic and challenging to distinguish. AI models trained on extensive image libraries can now identify these plants with accuracy that sometimes surpasses human specialists.
Such technological advancements mean new or vulnerable species can be detected faster, enabling conservationists to act before these plants disappear. Moreover, AI-powered studies have revealed subtle but critical ecological shifts. For example, an analysis of 8 million digitised specimens showed that flowering times worldwide have shifted by an average of 2.5 days per decade over the last century, a direct consequence of climate change.
These phenological changes disrupt long-established relationships between plants and their pollinators, threatening the stability of ecosystems. In India’s Western Ghats, for instance, a once-synchronized flowering pattern among key timber species has fragmented, potentially affecting forest regeneration and biodiversity.
Unlocking a Genomic Goldmine in Fungi Collections
While plants have long been the focus of conservation efforts, fungi are emerging as equally crucial yet vastly understudied players in global ecosystems. An estimated 2 million fungal species exist, but 90% remain unknown to science, and fewer than 1% have been assessed for extinction risk.
Recent technological advances allow scientists to extract high-quality genetic material from fungarium specimens up to 180 years old, transforming these archives into a “genomic goldmine.” This genetic treasure trove could lead to discoveries of new medicines, including antibiotics and cholesterol-lowering drugs, many of which historically have been derived from fungi.
Additionally, understanding fungal genetics is vital for predicting and managing disease outbreaks. As climate change extends warm and humid seasons, fungi that thrive in such conditions—including some human pathogens—are spreading into new regions, posing public health risks.
Balancing Innovation with Environmental and Ethical Concerns
Despite the promise of AI and digitisation, the environmental cost of powering massive data centres cannot be ignored. These facilities consume significant amounts of energy and water, contributing to the very climate challenges that threaten biodiversity. The report from Kew Gardens acknowledges this tension, emphasizing the need for sustainable technology practices alongside conservation goals.
Moreover, there is a risk that AI and digitisation could reinforce existing biases in biodiversity data, particularly if collections from underrepresented regions remain inaccessible or incomplete. To address this, experts call for expanded global partnerships that include technology firms, environmental organizations, governments, and funding bodies. Such collaborations are essential to ensure equitable access to data and to prioritize regions and species most in need of study and protection.
Charting a Path Forward for Biodiversity Conservation
The integration of AI and digitisation into botanical and mycological research marks a pivotal moment in conservation science. By accelerating species identification, revealing ecological changes, and unlocking genetic information from historical specimens, these tools offer unprecedented opportunities to safeguard the planet’s flora and fungi.
However, technology alone cannot solve the biodiversity crisis. It must be coupled with robust funding, international cooperation, and policies that address both environmental sustainability and social equity. As the world races to prevent the extinction of thousands of species, AI may well become one of the most powerful allies in preserving the natural foundations of life on Earth.
