Understanding Biodiversity

At our garden, we focus on collecting and conserving endangered plants. We use these plants as research material to analyze traits that can only be studied in living specimens, such as adaptive morphology, genes, chromosomes, and secondary metabolites. Through this work, we conduct research on plant diversification and their interactions with other organisms.

Getting to know each individual species that makes up plant diversity is the foundation for understanding plant diversity. Each species has devised countless strategies to survive by adapting to its given environment, while also forming relationships with other organisms through cooperation, competition, and predator-prey interactions. The unique characteristics of each plant contribute to shaping overall diversity. It goes without saying that we can protect and convey diversity only after we have come to understand it. We must not forget that understanding diversity is also the source of the joy of interacting with living things.

To understand a species, it is first necessary to observe it in the wild and learn about the environment it lives in and the organisms it interacts with. Then, specimens and living samples are brought back to the garden for detailed study. Comparing them with previously collected specimens makes their shapes and structures clearer. By cultivating living plants, we can accurately observe their behavior throughout their life cycle. Furthermore, substances and genes produced within living plants are extracted to investigate their evolutionary history and adaptations to the environment.

In this way, we reveal the characteristics of each species, and in some cases, the unique traits of individual plants. Studying the estimated 500,000 plant species on Earth is a daunting task, but the Tsukuba Botanical Garden collaborates with experts worldwide to advance our understanding of plant diversity.

For more details on our research, please see the "Research – Research Activities" page.