Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
or ecosystems particularly vulnerable to climate change, which
could put them at risk. Concerns regarding the survival and
genetic integrity of some MAPs in the face of such challenges
are increasingly being discussed within various forums.
Although scientists do not know whether climate change
poses a more prominent or immediate threat to MAP species
than other threats, it does have the potential to exert increasing
pressures upon MAP species and populations in the coming
years. The possible effects on MAPs may be particularly signif-
icant due to their value within traditional systems of medicine
and as economically useful plants. The future effects of climate
change are largely uncertain, but current evidence suggests that
these phenomena are having an impact on MAPs and that there
are some potential threats worthy of concern and discussion.
Some studies have demonstrated that temperature stress can
affect the secondary metabolites and other compounds that
plants produce, which are usually the basis for their medicinal
activity. But few studies have been conducted
in situ
(in natu-
ral settings) or
ex situ
(in a controlled non-natural setting) to
mimic conditions of global warming.
The taste and medicinal effectiveness of some Arctic plants
could possibly be affected by climate change. It was noted that
such changes could either be positive or negative, although
it seems more likely that the effects would be negative since
secondary metabolites are produced in larger quantities under
stressed conditions and—for Arctic plants—warmer tempera-
tures would likely alleviate environmental stress. However, that
the production of plants' secondary metabolites are influenced
by multiple factors—including diseases, competition between
plants, animal grazing, light exposure, soil moisture and so
on—and that these other factors may mitigate the effects of cli-
mate change on plants' secondary metabolites.
Recently NordGen, an organisation based in Alnarp,
Sweden, collected samples of four medicinal plant species from
Greenland for preservation and evaluation: angelica (
Angelica
archangelica
, Apiaceae), yarrow (
Achillea millefolium
,
Asteraceae),
Rhodiola rosea
(aka golden root, Crassulaceae)
and thyme (
Thymus vulgaris
, Lamiaceae). These four MAPs
are not currently endangered in Greenland, nor are they cur-
rently listed on the Convention in Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES) appendices. However, collectors interested in pre-
serving current plant genotypes from rapidly warming areas,
such as Greenland, must do so before new genotypes arrive
in response to climate change. Moreover, plant populations in
Greenland are often isolated by the territory's many huge ice
