Could Machine Learning Be the Key to Better Plant Conservation?

A desert smoke tree is illuminated by half-moon light in the Trilobite Wilderness region of Mojave Trails National Monument near Essex, California. If you know the animals in your neighborhood but not the plants, you're not alone. Scientists have documented nearly 400,000 plant species and expect to identify many more. But unlike well-known endangered animals, such as elephants, tigers, and parrots, we don't currently understand the conservation status of more than 90 percent of the world's plant species. Plant growth and communities drive the ecosystems, food chains, and agriculture on every continent, yet we don't know the conditions that cause them to thrive or disappear.