Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: New Approaches to Curing Plant Blindness Suggested by Anthropology and Psychology
October 10, 2016
“Plant blindness” is a term coined in 1998 by U.S. botanists to describe "the inability to see or notice the plants in one's own environment," which leads "to the inability to recognize the importance of plants in the biosphere and in human affairs."
A recent review published in
Conservation Biology by biologists Mung Balding and Kathryn Williams of the University of Melbourne in Australia examined previous research to understand why this bias against plants exists. The researchers examine why people, including conservationists, tend to be biased against plants, and if this bias can be challenged.
Among the articles key findings:
Bias against plants is widespread, and seriously limits conservation efforts, scientists say.
While some studies suggest that people’s attraction towards animals may be due to biologically based visual and cognitive processes, others have shown that cultural practices play an important role in shaping people’s relationship with plants.
Plant blindness can be challenged, researchers say, through activities and programs that encourage deeper appreciation of plants.
Read the study’s
abstract in
Conservation BiologyRead an
article on the issue in the publication
Mongabay
