Understanding of plant diversity and development of science-based tools for their sustainable use.

Plants are the basis for life on earth. They perceive and transform solar energy, they consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, and they provide mankind with food, raw materials and medicine. Today plant life is threatened by extinction of species and rapid climate change. Therefore, understanding, preserving and using plants is of increasing relevance. In the past, progress has been achieved independently by different plant research disciplines with different traditions. The DCPS aims to use an integrative approach with the goal to achieve a comprehensive understanding of diverse aspects of plant life. To this end, DCPS unites experts from diverse fields of plant sciences, including genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, plant physiology, cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, systematics and taxonomy, pharmaceutical biology, plant geography, and history of botany.