Conserving rare and endangered medicinal plants through networking database

Conserving rare and endangered medicinal plants through networking database Dr P Lakshmi Padmavathi, Dr A Suvarna Latha, Dr K S Shanthi Sree and * Prof D Bharathi * Department of Sericulture, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam Corresponding Author , Email ID: depurubharathi1960@gmail.com The demand for medicinal and aromatic plants has grown rapidly across the globe in recent years primarily due to the threats posed by increasing demand and resultant extensive destruction of plant rich habitats In this context many medicinal plants are facing extinction or severe genetic loss Therefore the collection, conservation and exchange of strategic Information and planting material of medicinal plants have become extremely critical From ancient times to till date all cultures have used plants as a source of medicine because of their vital role in supplying nutrients as well as strengthening various essential human systems to protect them from several diseases At present, there is a dearth of awareness about the importance of plant conservation and the methods that are used to conserve the rare and endangered species Successful conservation requires cooperation between Plant Biologists, research institutions, policy makers and the public A complex web of different organizations and practices should work together to maintain and safeguard the rare and endangered flora Well-developed Plant Data Base (PDB) provides an easy way to efficiently store information about medicinal plants and also greatly facilitates shared access to relevant information The websites help to connect organized information of plants with their images including their variants captured over time Search tools allow us to find plants by family, genus, scientific name, common name and accession number as well as general categories including flower, fruit, or foliage.The communication strategy for engendering local community support for the conservation programme involves the use of a wide range of media that the local communities are familiar with, and which have the power to communicate the messages to the target groups Thus the Networking database is useful for plant identification, reference and Biodiversity discovery and implementing these new technologies that can vitally improve possibilities of the conservation, collection and dissemination of medicinal knowledge which contribute to the sustainability of our plant wealth Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 Key Words: Medicinal Plants, Plant Conservation, Websites, endangered flora and Plant Data Base (PDB) INTRODUCTION Source: oaji.net/articles/2014/1378-1419318230.pdf · Medicinal plants have been the subject of human curiosity since time immemorial (Constable, 1990) Almost every civilization has a history of medicinal plant use (Ensminger et al., 1983) World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 80% of the population in the developed and the developing nations depend upon traditional medicine, mostly plant drugs for the primary health care needs [Vines, 2004] and about 85% of traditional medicine involves the use of plant extracts (Vieira and Skorupa, 1993) India has 2.4% of world’s area with 8% of global biodiversity According to Mukherjee and Wahile, 2006 India is home to a great variety of medicinal plants with all the three levels of biodiversity such as species diversity, genetic diversity, and habitat diversity and is ranked sixth among 12 hotspots of mega diversity countries of the world The Himalayas are designated as one of the global biodiversity hotspots [Semwal et al., 2007] Across the country, the forests are estimated to harbour 90% of India’s total medicinal plants diversity Only about 10% of the known medicinal plants of India are restricted to non-forest habitats (Wakdikar, 2004) India with rich biodiversity ranks first in per cent flora, which contain active medicinal ingredient (Mandal, 1999) Concerning the total number of flowering plant species, although only 18,665, the intraspecific variability found in them makes it one of the highest in the world Out of 18,665 plants, the classic systems of medicines like Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani make use of only about 3000 plants in various formulations (Schippmann et al., 2006) On a global basis, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has estimated that about 12.5% of the world’s vascular plants, totalling about 34 000 species are under varying degrees of threat (Phartyal et al., 2002) A total of 560 plant species of India have been included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened species, out of which 247 species are in the threatened category IUCN recognises the following categories: extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened, least concern, data deficient and not evaluated Species with small populations that are not at present endangered or vulnerable but are at risk are called rare (Singh et al., 2006) Only a portion of medicinal plants that suffer from genetic erosion and resource destruction have been listed as threatened [Schippmann et al., 2006 ; Deeb et al., 2013] Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 Several international, national as well as private bodies namely CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), WWF(World Wild life Fund), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP planned International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization), Botanic Gardens Conservation International ( BGCI), International Board for Plant Genetic Resources etc are governed at times to formulate feasible and competent strategies toward conserving this near to be threatened medicinal plants diversity [Akerele et al 1988] Different approaches towards preserving the botanical diversity are being practiced for medicinal, ornamental, aromatic and other important plants However, there needs to be several integrated and/or independent techniques or methodologies, which when combined together have a promising potential towards the conservation of plant species Global distribution of endangered plants - data from The IUCN Red List Source: www.pnas.org/content/110/42/16832 Factors related to species rarity, threatened and endangered situation of medicinal plants For extraction of medicinally important active compounds most of the pharmaceutical / nutraceutical industry is highly dependent on wild populations for the supply of raw materials According to Rai, 2010 unfortunately the genetic diversity of medicinal plants in the world is getting endangered at an alarming rate because of ruinous harvesting practices or over-harvesting for production of medicines, with little or no regard to the future Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 lack of proper cultivation practices, Non-judicious use of plants from these habitats that made many species of medicinal plants have become rare, severely threatened or endangered In addition to this, the medicinal plants are highly affected by climate change, such as: a increase in carbon dioxide concentration which favours C3 plants over C4 plant, b ocean acidification, c increase in diseases and pest, d high rain fall and high salt content in soil etc Endangered Medicinal Plants in India (Plants are categorized as endangered according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) Table :1 Endangered Medicinal Plants Family Sanskrit name AquilariamalaccesisLam Thymelaeaceae agaru, aguru Cibotiumbarometz(L.) Cyatheaceae Not available DendrobiumnobileLindl Orchidaceae Not available DioscoreadeltoideaWallexKu Dioscoreaceae Not available NardostachysgrandifloraDC Valerianaceae jatamansi, jatamamsi PicrorhizakurrooaBenth Scrophulariaceae katuka, katuki PodophyllumhexandrumRoyl Berberidaceae laghapattra, vakra PterocarpussantalinusL.f Fabaceae raktachandana, tilaparni Rauvolfiaserpentina(L.) Apocynaceae sarpagandha, nakuli Saussureacostus(Falc.) Asteraceae kustha, vapya TaxuswallichianaZucc Taxaceae talisapatra, barahmi in India Botanical name nth e Source : www.rroij.com/ /biodiversity-and-strategies-for-conservation-of-rareendangered-an Significance of human activity in endangering Flora According to Feeley and Silman 2009 habitat loss and climate change are the Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 primary causes of species endangerment; there are other biological factors, such as competition /invasion (Klironomos, 2002), including non-native fungi (Gundale , 2002) or exotic arthropods (Pimentel, 2005), can also drive plant species to extinction The 2005 Global Forest Resource Assessment, coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, declared a high rate of deforestation with approximately a 6-millionhectare annual decrease in forest area, which further limits the forests’ role in the conservation of biodiversity (Global ForestResources Assessment, 2005) Cochrane and Laurance projected that by the year 2032, more than 70% of the planet’s land surface will have been destroyed or disturbed (Cochrane and Laurance, 2002) Interestingly, natural events such as geological and climate change represent a 19% threat to plant life while the greatest threat involves human-induced habitat loss as part of the conversion of natural habitats to agriculture or livestock grazing Human-induced environmental changes include increased levels of atmospheric CO 2, phosphorus, calcium, pH, and other climate changes These changes facilitate plant extinction as plant physiologies are forced to adapt to changing environmental constraints ( Tilman and Lehman, 2001) It is estimated that habitat destruction from human activity is the primary cause of risk for 83% of endangered plant species According to Winter et al., human activities mainly affect two fundamental processes: i native extinction and ii alien introduction These two processes affect taxonomic and phylogenetic characteristics (Marten et al., 2009) Policies or regulations for conservation of rare, endangered and threatened medicinal plants in India: There are no separate policies or regulations for conserving medicinal plants growing in forests in India There conservation is covered under existing laws pertaining to forestry Following are the laws formulated by government of India for conservation of forests which directly or indirectly protects the wild herbal flora Forest Act, 1927 Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 1991 Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 Environment Protection Act, 1986 National forest policy, 1988 National biodiversity act, 2002 Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers act, 2006 Strategies for conservation of medicinal plants: All over the world, the protected areas are the most widely accepted and practically approachable to biodiversity conservation Conservation strategy (IUCW, UNEP & WWF, 1980) defines conservation as “the management of human use of the biodiversity so that it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to present generation while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations”( K R Akshay et.al., 2014) The conservation of the wild medicinal plants or any other such threatened species can be tackled by scientific techniques as well as social actions In article of The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) emphasized on the fundamental requisite of in situ conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and also regarded as ex situ only as a second best [Roy, 2010; Tripathi and Tripathi, 2003; Oderson,2006] There are basically two scientific techniques of conservation of genetic diversity of these plants In-situ conservation 2.Exsitu conservation In-situ conservation: In-situ conservation, which considered as the method of conserving endangered species in their wild habitats, is promising in protecting indigenous species and maintaining natural communities along with their intricate network of relationships [ Meilleur and Hodgkin, 2004 ] In situ conservation focuses on preserving and protecting the genetic variation in the location it has been encountered originally i.e in its natural habitats either in the wild or in traditional farming system, including the animal and insects which directly or indirectly help in pollination or dispersal of spores There are the two widely practiced in-situ techniques for plant conservation A On farm conservation: The method is associated with the conservation of plants through the farmers on the farm which is a reasonable and acceptable process, but lags due to the slow growth of the plant B Home garden technique for conservation:It is maintaining the genetic variation of a plant within a limited space to make the maintenance in the native location which is comparatively cost effective (Meenakshi et al, 2012) There are other methods that evolved considering the time, cost and uncertainty involved in the above discussed approaches Genetic reserve conservation: it is a more reasonable methodology for conserving the plants Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 on large scale This method is more appropriate for the bulk of wild species, whether closely or distinctly related, because it is easy to maintain a diverse genetic pool in a single reserve that allows continuous evolution of the species The disadvantage is that the conserved material is not readily available for agricultural exploitation [Alterie and Merrick, 1987; Nigel et al.,1997] Establishment of biosphere reserves, national parks, wild life sanctuaries, sacred groves and other protected areas forms examples of 'in-situ' methods of conservation The idea of establishing protected area network has taken a central place in all policy decision process related to biodiversity conservation at national, international and global level Ex-situ conservation: Ex-situ cultivation becomes an immediate action to sustain medicinal plant resources [Rita and Silvano, 2006 ; Barazani et al.,2008 ] Ex situ involves conservation outside the native habitat and is generally used to safeguard populations in danger of destruction, replacement or deterioration especially for those overexploited and endangered medicinal plants with slow growth, small abundance and replant diseases [Shinwari and Gilan 2003;Chen et al.,2004] But the disadvantages of ex situ conservation are that the sample of the species conserved ex situ may represent a narrower range of genetic variation than that which occurs in the wild Species conserved ex situ can also suffer genetic erosion and depend on continued human care For this reason, ex situ conservation must not replace, but should complement, in situ conservation Understanding the geographical distribution and biological characteristics of medicinal plants is essential for their ex-situ conservation activities [Russel et al.,2006, Willims et al., 2009] Although many plant species can be successfully introduced, cultivated and naturalized in a wide range of habitats across countries and continents [Ginnett and Demment, 1999], their growth and distribution in different habitats are based on local indicators [Ghimire et al.,2004], e.g soil properties, climate conditions and environmental features [Pulliam,2000] Aguilar- Stoen and Moe (2007) found that many medicinal plants thriving in harsh habitats and disturbed areas are of high medicinal efficacy because rocky and dry habitats stimulate their secondary metabolites Approaches to ex situ conservation include methods like seed storage, field gene banks and botanical gardens The precautionary principles would suggest that an immediate and country-wide exercise be taken up to deposit seeds of wild medicinal plants with a first priority to known Red listed species and endemic species Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 Advances in biotechnology offer new methods like in vitro culture, micropropagation, mycorrhization, genetic transformation, development of DNA banks and plant part substitution for conservation of these rare and endangered medicinal plants “Gene Library” provide vital information to the conservation scientists DNA banks assembled as a means to replace traditional methods of conserving genetic resources DNA storage may provide the ultimate way to conserve the genetic diversity of these species and their populations in the short term, until effective methods can be developed [Dulloo et al.,2006] The department of bio-technology, Government of India has recently taken the initiative to establish gene banks in the country One is with ICAR at the NBPGR (National Bureau of plant genetic Resources) Campus, the second is with CIMAPs, (Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic plants) Lucknow and the third with TBFRI in Thiruvananthapuram TBGRI has established the field gene bank of medicinal and aromatic plants under the G-15-GBMAP sponsored by DBT, Government of India, and TBGRI experience now provide ample opportunity to repeat the same elsewhere in the country The field gene bank of TBGRI has covered 30,000 accessions of 250 medicinal and aromatic plant species which include 100 endemic, rare and endangered medicinal and aromatic plants of the tropical region of India (Akshay et.al,2014) Source: www.rroij.com /open-access /biodiver A nationwide network of medicinal plant nurseries, which will multiply all the regional specific plants that are used in the current practice of traditional medicine will become the primary sources of supply of plants and seed material that can be subsequently multiplied by the various users Net works of 50 Ethno-medicinal plant gardens were setup by an All India Health Network Among them 15 such gardens have been setup in states of South India with the initiative of FRLHT Planting material for 40 odd species of medicinal and aromatic plants is reportedly available in the ICAR and CSIR (CIMAP) network In South India The Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) has recently set up a network of 55 supply nurseries This chain of gardens will act as regional repositories of our cultural and ethno medicinal history and embody the living traditions of our societies knowledge of medicinal plants Importance of Net Working Plant Data Base: Source: https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4811-4-1; and World Health Organization – 1993 – apps.who.int Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 Once the habitat of a species has been identified, botanists can predict where that species might occur, in addition to those places where it has already been found With this information an up-to-date maps to be prepared highlighting the key areas for medicinal plants and also the vegetation cover of the country Wherever possible, information on medicinal plants should be stored in computerized databases, which should follow international data standards and transfer formats where they exist The following data should be gathered on each species as far as practicable: Its scientific (Latin) name, and its vernacular name(s); Its geographical distribution; Its scarcity or abundance, population size and conservation status; Its habitat; Description of the part of the plant used (e.g stem or leaf) and how collected; Its use(s) in medicine, traditional or otherwise; Its occurrence in protected areas Whether cultivated or not, and the availability and location of ex situ germplasm Line drawings or photographs should be included wherever possible Images from satellites provide a way to keep this information up-to-date In order to safeguard this plant data, it should be documented and preserved through Net Working Data Base for future use These data will most likely be held by national herbaria and botany departments, but ideally should be brought together in one place and entered in a centralized database, to support planning efforts at the national level Botanical institutions should make a catalogue of all the plant species used for medicinal purposes in the country Putting the information into computerized databases has the advantage of enabling retrieval in many different ways yet permitting a constant process of refining and updating The use of international data standards and agreed transfer formats enables institutes to share and contribute information more easily with each other, and greatly saves in the time and cost of developing database systems Plant Data Base (PDB) provides an easy way to efficiently store information about plants and also greatly facilitates shared access to relevant information Introduction of a concise identifier system allows easy generation of pedigree trees and their genetic composition details In addition, all information about any plant – from growth Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 conditions, extracted samples such as RNA and DNA bar coding data of rare and endangered plants to files containing images of the plants – can be linked unequivocally.The websites connects organized information of plants with their images captured over time Search tools allow us to find plants by family, genus, scientific name, common name and accession number as well as general categories including flower, fruit, or foliage The data should also cover techniques adopted for conservation of plants in various Macro projects and microcosms Mapping is better done nowadays on computers, using the technology of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) The data can be stored and made available easily by using the technology that is developing rapidly connecting the world.Some of these technologies are described hereunder The following organizations offer help in setting up national conservation databases and in GIS technology: World Conservation Monitoring Centre (219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK); The Nature Conservancy (1815 N Lynn Street, Arlington, VA 22209, USA); and Conservation International (1015 18th Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036, USA) Mobile Geospatial Computing: Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spacial_analysis#cite_note-6 & file:///K:/%C2%A0/plant%20conservation/Training%20manual%20on%20spatial%20analysis%20o f%20plant%20diversity%20and%20distribution.htm Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 The enhanced capabilities of mobile devices, makes it convenient for geospatial computing in mobile devices which is becoming a fast-growing trend.[Chen and Guinness,2014] The portable nature of these devices, as well as the presence of useful sensors, such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers and barometric pressure sensors, make them useful for capturing and processing geospatial information in the field In addition to the local processing of geospatial information on mobile devices, another growing trend is cloud-based geospatial computing In this architecture, data can be collected in the field using mobile devices and then transmitted to cloud-based servers for further processing and ultimate storage Using the functionality, geospatial information can be made available to connected mobile devices via the cloud, allowing access to vast databases of geospatial information anywhere where a wireless data connection is available Youth today are very much connected with each other and spreading information about global/local issues through the internet and similar networking can be achieved for the conservation practices which helps in developing skills to effectively carry out spatial analysis based on (free) GIS applications with a focus to understand on the diversity and ecological factors of the target plant genetic pool These analyses offer a better understanding of spatial patterns of plant diversity and distribution, helping to improve conservation efforts The training manual focuses on plants of interest for improving livelihoods (e.g crops, trees and crop wild relatives) and/or those which are endangered.Spatial analyses of interspecific and intraspecific diversity are explained using different types of data which can be stored in a single file (which by unzipping creates the different folders used in the manual) such as Importing observation data 8.Diversity - Phenotypic data Importing climate data Diversity - Molecular marker data Basic elements 10 Conservation strategies Export to Google Earth 11.Realized niche Quality control – Administrative units 12._potential_distribution.zip Quality control – Atypical points 13 Climate change 7.Species diversity 14 Gap analysis Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 base links available as on date: Source : file:///K:/%C2%A0/plant%20conservation/Plants%20Databases%20Links.html Currently the following database links are available which are helping the storage and dissemination of knowledge in the respective areas of the world Iris BG Used by botanical gardens, arboreta and large estates, Iris BG is a complete database and software solution to manage your botanical collection The database and software package is based on the latest developments in information technology, is easy to use, install and maintain Plant Collections - A Community Solution The Chicago Botanic Garden, in collaboration with APGA, the University of Kansas, and 15 public gardens nationwide, is developing PlantCollections, an online database to help analyse combined holdings, a first step in coordinating a continent-wide approach to plant germplasm preservation Grasses Database The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has made available their comprehensive databases on grass species and synonymy The Internet Directory for Botany The Internet Directory of Botany is an index to botanical information available on the Internet, compiled by Anthony R Brach It started as a personal bookmark list of botanical sites and is now a large resource for the botanical community Plant life Species Dossiers The Species Dossiers provide easy access to a wealth of detailed information on rare British plants This includes identification, distribution, ecology, threats and management, as well as ideas, contacts and research areas The World Biodiversity Database This is a new and completely revised World Biodiversity Database (WBD) The WBD allows you to search for information on any plants or animals in the world These projects cover a total so far of 25493 unique taxa, plus an additional 4149 synonyms Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centre - Wild Plants Database This is the latest version of the Wild Plants Database and the number of data fields has increased and it is now linked to an extensive image library There are also a number of other useful resources such as a botanic glossary Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 v Plants v Plants is a virtual herbarium for the Chicago region in the US Currently the site contains data for 72,000 plant specimens from three institutions with rich Chicago Region collections: the Field Museum of Natural History, The Morton Arboretum, and the Chicago Botanic Garden Indian Medicinal Plants Database This online Encyclopaedia of Indian Medicinal Plants lists the information available with Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions on each medicinal plant species such as number of vernacular names, distribution data, trade, propagation, agro-technique, seed storage, and much more Bauble Botanical Collection Management Bauble is a software application to help you (yes you) manage a collection of botanical specimens It is intended to be used by botanic gardens, herbaria, arboreta, etc to manage their collection information It is an open, free, cross-platform alternative to BG-Base and similar software Plants for a Future Plants for a Future is a resource centre for rare and unusual plants, particularly those which have edible, medicinal or other uses We practise vegan-organic permaculture with emphasis on creating an ecologically sustainable environment based largely on perennial plants Neotropical Herbarium Specimens This site is an aid to the general identification of dried specimens of Neotropical plants It will be most useful to professional biologists and others doing species inventories of natural areas, ecology, and ethnobotany It's a desktop reference set of high-quality images of herbarium material Directory of Botanical Collections in Britain and Ireland This is a directory that Plant Network have devised, listing all the collections of UK Botanical Gardens in geographic order An extremely useful resource if you are looking for specific plants, or a certain region's plants, within the British Isles BG-BASE BG-BASE is a powerful, well proven database application for managing records of collections of biological material In wide use by botanic gardens, arboreta, and herbaria, BGBASE facilitates basic inventory control, and enables users to fully document, label and curate their collections Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 E Flora of China Online Efloras brings together electronic floras into an online interface Users can browse online floristic treatments by volume, family, and genus, and can search by name, distributional data, and text With the use of web forms, editors and authors with permissions can correct and update the data Wiki-species: Plants Wiki-species is a project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation with a great potential It is meant to become an open, free directory of species This will cover all forms of life and at this link you will find the Plantae classification "Wiki-species is free Because life is public domain!" Australian Botanical Databases The Australian National Botanical Gardens and the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research have compiled lists of databases relating to Australasian flora The site is also rich with information about plants of Australia, including photographs and horticulture, and about botanic gardens in the area Nature Serve Providing the scientific basis for effective conservation, Nature Serve and its network of natural heritage programs are the trusted source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems in the Americas Offers a searchable database of plants of the U.S and Canada Native Seeds SEARCH Through seed conservation and community interaction Native Seeds/SEARCH works to protect crop biodiversity and to celebrate American Southwestern and northwest Mexico cultural diversity Today we safeguard 2000 varieties of arid-land adapted agricultural crops European Bioinformatics Institute The EBI is a centre for research and services in bioinformatics The Institute manages databases of biological data including nucleic acid, protein sequences and macromolecular structures They offer researchers free, unrestricted access to some of the world's most important biological databases Google Earth Want to know more about a specific location, anywhere on earth? Dive right in Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips This is one the most amazing things you can on the internet so far Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 SEPASAL SEPASAL is a database and enquiry service about useful "wild" and semi-domesticated plants of tropical and subtropical drylands, developed and maintained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ePIC - Electronic Plant Information Centre ePIC is a major project making Kew's digitised information about plants available online It searches through Kew's collections, bibliographies, nomenclatures and checklists, publications and taxonomic works, as well as external links and content on Kew's website it's very impressive! Wiki Gardens Website for the landscape architect, practiced gardener, amateur plant nerd & anyone inbetween It is primarily a site for plant research The site features a 50,000 plant encyclopaedia, a garden showcase, a forum, a members’ journal, seasonal topics of interest, & listings of local garden groups Tips on Using Databases "If the users can't use it, it doesn't work - If it doesn't work, the users can't use it" If your non-profit has to deal with tech matters but you don't know a great deal about it, you will well to look at this website It introduces you to databases and lots of other tech matters, clearly Global Biodiversity Information Facility Biodiversity and biodiversity information are essential to a sustainable future for society GBIF is making recorded knowledge about biodiversity available to everyone using the Internet Anyone with records of biodiversity can send data into GBIF to help build an online image of life on earth Conclusion Medicinal herbs, as potential sources of therapeutics aids have attained a significant role in health system allover the world for both humans and animals not only in the diseased condition but also as potential material for maintaining proper health without any side effects Owing to the commercial importance, the medicinal plants as well as their habitats along with the associated plants and animals are being destroyed without any concern over the consequences Such acts on the part of human beings had resulted into the modification of the conditions of the microcosms in which the medicinal plants are located and grow These changes will have a cascading effect on the Macro environment significantly there by causing Computer, Communications and Data Engineering Series Volume Issue 2018 Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 major ecological and geo thermal impacts such as melting glaciers increase sea levels and unwanted green-house gas effects Fresh strategies of a forestation management and restoration of depleting natural resources blending with modern technologies are required as a remedial action for this Unless we take urgent steps to conserve the Flora the medicinal plants suffer the threat of overexploitation and biodiversity depletion Therefore there is an urgent need for implementing conservation practices like ex situ conservation which will help the regeneration of similar plants which over a period get better due to the Natural selection process by which right traits are conserved It is important for the scientific community and the communities involved in the conservation and practicing traditional medicine to get the strategic online information So that they are able to nurture the plants and regain the lost biodiversity Conservation and cultivation of rare and endangered medicinal crops can not only add to the bio diversity and ecological upgradation of systems but also stands as an alternative source for income generation for the rural unemployed Youth Institutes like, CIMAP and ICAR play an vital role in disseminating knowledge about conserving rare and endangered medicinal species and developing agro technologies and market linkages to farmer in order to extend the area and generate income to the farmer In this effort there is a great need for information flow through databases which are commonly used by biologists to store diverse data such as vector information or microarray data There are certain data bases that were designed to store data of experimental plants The goal was to develop a database solution that is easy to use, adjustable to specific needs and available to many who are involved in the conservation process There are attempts by several organisations to build databases like Microsoft DB It is important that all those bodies who are preserving the knowledge to network and exchange the information seamlessly so that users can access it effectively and adopt in the conservation efforts With the use of cloud computing technologies and involvement of Mobile computing instruments the knowledge can be preserved about various techniques on conservation of gene pool that is endangered It is important that this data being preserved should extensively cover the characters and images of the plants under conservation and their pictures for common identification It is also essential to have such data on the variants of these plants as well as the associated fauna in the microcosms where they originated from which we can get clues in conserving these plants in effective manner especially when we attempt to cultivate them in ex situ condition Electroniccopy copy available available at: Electronic at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 https://ssrn.com/abstract=3216497 Acknowledgements: The Authors wish to thank Dr P.V.S.L Narasimham who helped in the preparation of the Manuscript References Aguilar-Stoen M, Moe SR (2007) Medicinal plant 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Youth Institutes like, CIMAP and ICAR play an vital role in disseminating knowledge about conserving rare and endangered medicinal species and developing agro technologies and market linkages to farmer... which favours C3 plants over C4 plant, b ocean acidification, c increase in diseases and pest, d high rain fall and high salt content in soil etc Endangered Medicinal Plants in India (Plants are categorized... (Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic plants) Lucknow and the third with TBFRI in Thiruvananthapuram TBGRI has established the field gene bank of medicinal and aromatic plants under the G-15-GBMAP