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Research@WUR
Article . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Research@WUR
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Plants, People, Planet
Article . 2025 . Peer-reviewed
License: CC BY
Data sources: Crossref
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Transdisciplinary plant sciences: A review

Authors: Ludwig, David;

Transdisciplinary plant sciences: A review

Abstract

Societal Impact Statement Socio‐ecological crises such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and food insecurity require academic expertise and also the inclusion of diverse actors outside of academia such as farmers, policymakers, and local communities. This article develops a synthesizing account of “transdisciplinary plant sciences” that aim to co‐create research and interventions with diverse non‐academic actors. The increasing importance of transdisciplinary methods reflects their potential in fostering more sustainable relations among plants, people, and the planet. At the same time, a more focused debate about transdisciplinarity in the plant sciences is necessary to tackle its many methodological and institutional challenges in contexts of expert‐driven research and technocratic governance cultures. Summary This review article develops a synthesizing account of transdisciplinary plant sciences that include diverse non‐academic actors such as farmers, policymakers, and local communities. Five hotspots of transdisciplinarity in the plant sciences—ethnobotany, participatory plant breeding, integrated pest management, convivial conservation, and Do‐it‐Yourself “DIY” biology—are introduced to assess commonalities and differences from a comparative perspective. Across these five fields, the review reveals common opportunities and challenges of transdisciplinary plant sciences. Plant knowledge was never an exclusively academic affair, and the plant sciences can therefore mobilize rich traditions of co‐creation for more inclusive research practices. However, local plant knowledge often becomes sidelined in expert‐driven research and technocratic governance cultures that reflect serious methodological and institutional challenges of transdisciplinary approaches. A transformative agenda is needed to realize transdisciplinary promises of epistemically more robust and socially more just research. The rise of transdisciplinary plant sciences therefore raises foundational questions about the roles of plant sciences in times of planetary crises and about their potential in shaping relations among plants, people, and the planet.

Country
Netherlands
Related Organizations
Keywords

co-production, ethnobotany, interdisciplinarity, integrated pest management, transdisciplinarity, participatory research, DIY biology, convivial conservation

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    2
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 10%
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
2
Top 10%
Average
Average
Green
gold
Related to Research communities
Italian National Biodiversity Future Center