According to a report prepared by an international team of scientists, at least 30% of various tree species in the wild around the world are threatened with extinction. According to the latest forecasts of scientists, 17.5 thousand species, including various types of oaks, magnolias and tropical trees, may cease to exist.
This number is twice the number of endangered species of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles combined.
Conservation organizations are calling for urgent efforts to protect trees from threats such as deforestation, logging and climate change.
“There are about 60,000 tree species on the planet, and for the first time, we now know which of these species need conservation action, what are the greatest threats to them and where they are,” said Dr. Malin Rivers of Botanic Gardens Conservation International. operating at the Royal Botanic Gardens in the London suburb of Kew.
“For a healthy planet, we need a variety of tree species, as each species has a unique ecological role to play,” added Sarah Oldfield, co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Global Trees Group.
The State of the World's Trees states that at least 30% of the 60,000 known tree species are endangered.
About 142 species have already disappeared from the wild, and 442 species are at the very edge of extinction, that is, there are less than 50 trees of these species left in the world.
The biggest threats to trees around the world, researchers say, are deforestation for clearing agricultural land (affecting 29% of species), logging (27%), deforestation for grazing livestock or setting up farms (14%), deforestation for development (13%) and forest fires (13%).
Climate change, extreme weather and sea level rise are also an increasing threat to trees, albeit to a lesser extent. But the authors say knowledge of the risks and conservation action offer hope for the future.
“The report offers us a roadmap for mobilizing the broader conservation community and other key players to prioritize tree conservation in environmental programs,” says Dr. Rivers.
What scientists are urging to do
- Conservation of existing forests and expansion of reserves and protected areas.
- Conservation of endangered species in botanical gardens or seed banks in the hope that one day they may be returned to the wild (currently, about 30% of all tree species are preserved in this way)
- Educational activities to ensure that breeding and reforestation programs are carried out scientifically, with the right trees and in the right place, including rare and endangered species.
- Increased funding for tree conservation.
Scientists estimate that at least one million species of animals and plants are threatened with extinction. Over the past 300 years, the world's forest area has decreased by about 40%, and 29 countries have lost more than 90% of their forest cover.
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What makes trees disappear
- Large tropical trees known as dipterocarps are disappearing as palm oil plantations expand
- Some oak species are dying out due to farming in parts of Mexico, Chile and Argentina
- Valuable black and rose trees cut down in Madagascar for furniture production
- Magnolia is endangered due to irrational and inept collection of plants
- Ash and related species are killed by pests and diseases in the UK and North America
