Nearly one-third of world’s tree species at risk of extinction, report warns
NEARLY one in three tree species are at risk of extinction, largely due to agriculture, logging and livestock farming, a report warns.
The Menai whitebeam, which has just 30 trees growing in its North Wales home, is one of hundreds of tree species which are on the brink of vanishing altogether, the first “state of the world’s trees” report warns.
The assessment of how the world’s nearly 60,000 tree species are faring has found 30 per cent, or 17,500, of them are at risk of extinction, with well-known species such as magnolia among the most threatened. Oaks, maple and ebonies are also at risk, according to the report by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).
The study compiles work from the Global Tree Assessment over the past five years, which has seen more than 60 institutions and more than 500 experts examine the extinction risk for the world’s 58,497 tree species. One in five tree species are directly used by humans for food, fuel, timber, medicines, horticulture and other uses. At least 142 species are recorded as extinct and many more face extinction because of exploitation and mismanagement.
The biggest threats are clearances for agricultural crops, logging for timber, and clearing forest for livestock, the assessment warns.
Climate change is also a rising threat, with many trees at risk of losing areas of suitable habitat as the temperatures increase and weather changes, with cloud forest species in Central America being at particular risk.
There are also at least 180 tree species directly threatened by sea level rise and severe weather, including magnolias in the Caribbean, while increasing risks of fire are a major threat to trees in Madagascar, and a risk to US oak species. The report warns that more than 440 tree species are on the brink of extinction, as they have fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild, including the Menai whitebeam and the Mulanje cedar in Malawi.
BGCI is calling for governments and experts to extend protected area coverage for threatened tree species, ensure all at-risk trees where possible are conserved in botanic gardens and seed banks, and increase public and corporate funding for the issue.