Amazonian biocultural heritage under climate change

Amazonia harbors one fourth of the worlds plant diversity and over 300 Indigenous groups. So far, however, no study has assessed how climate change may simultaneously impact its biological and cultural heritage. To bridge this gap, we assembled a database on 5,833 utilized plant species and show that climate change will reduce more the ranges of utilized than of non-utilized species by 2070. Locally, Indigenous cultures may lose an average of 65% of their utilized plant species and 50% of their associated services from climate change. Regionally, the loss of threatened languages may result in a 41% reduction in the Amazonian knowledge pool. Overall, our results point to the strong climate vulnerability of Amazonian biocultural heritage.