Skip to main content

Globally, over 15 per cent of all tree species face extinction threat (downtoearth, )

The world’s first global list of tree species is out and it’s touted as a major step towards effective forest conservation.

During Paris climate change negotiations in 2015, conservation of trees and sustainable management of forests were recognised as crucial activities for addressing climate change. However, until now, there has not been any global list of tree species around the world. Our knowledge of the number of tree species was sparse. But effective forest conservation needs species-specific information and action.

The Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has recently created a database called GlobalTreeSearch to "support global research, conservation, and botanically-based interventions, including forest landscape restoration".

Facts about tree species

Based on the analysis of published data sources and experts’ input, the number of tree species currently known to science is 60,065.
Nearly half of all tree species (45 per cent) are found in just ten families, with the three most tree-rich families being Leguminosae, Rubiaceae, and Myrtaceae.
Credit: BGCI
Credit: BGCI

Brazil, which recently lost about 9,000 sq km of Amazon to deforestation, has the highest number tree species. It is followed by Colombia and Indonesia.
Besides Australia, Brazil and China, countries such as Indonesia, Madagascar and Papua New Guinea have the maximum number of country-endemic tree species.
Nearly 58 per cent of all tree species are endemic to a single country only.
The Karomia gigas species (or Chinese Hats tree) was found to have only one population of trees still living—just six trees in a remote part of Tanzania. Over-harvesting of the tree for construction and furniture-making drove it to extinction.
Top 10 countries with the largest number of endemic species. Credit: BGCI
Top 10 countries with the largest number of endemic species. Credit: BGCI

Trees facing extinction threat

According to the research, the conservation status of only about 20,000 tree species (or 30 per cent of the world’s trees) is currently known. But of those assessed, almost half―or 9,600 tree species―of them are considered threatened with extinction. It means, around 15 per cent of all tree species are under threat.

Researchers have concluded that more than 300 species are critically endangered, with just 50 or fewer individual trees for each species left in the wild.

Seeds of the Chinese Hats tree found only in Tanzania. Credit: Kirsty Shaw / BGCI
Seeds of the Chinese Hats tree found only in Tanzania. Credit: Kirsty Shaw / BGCI

Importance of Global TreeSearch

The BGCI engaged experts from botanical institutions across the world over a period of two years and consulted over 500 published references to create Global TreeSearch—the first comprehensive list of the world’s tree species and their country-wise distributions. This list has been reviewed by more than 30 experts chosen on the basis of their taxonomic or regional expertise. This database can be used as “a tool for monitoring and managing tree species diversity, forests and carbon stocks on a global, regional and/or national level”.

According to Craig Beatty of the IUCN Global Forest and Climate Change Programme (GFCCP), “GlobalTreeSearch provides us with a baseline inventory of tree species for each country we work in, and the foundational knowledge that is required to ensure that restoration planning and activity can effectively contribute to improved livelihoods and ecology through the restoration of tree species”.

Popular posts from this blog

NGT terminates chairmen of pollution control boards in 10 states (downtoearth,)

Cracking the whip on 10 State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) for ad-hoc appointments, the National Green Tribunal has ordered the termination of Chairpersons of these regulatory authorities. The concerned states are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and Manipur. The order was given last week by the principal bench of the NGT, chaired by Justice Swatanter Kumar. The recent order of June 8, 2017, comes as a follow-up to an NGT judgment given in August 2016. In that judgment, the NGT had issued directions on appointments of Chairmen and Member Secretaries of the SPCBs, emphasising on crucial roles they have in pollution control and abatement. It then specified required qualifications as well as tenure of the authorities. States were required to act on the orders within three months and frame Rules for appointment [See Box: Highlights of the NGT judgment of 2016 on criteria for SPCB chairperson appointment]. Having ...

High dose of Vitamin C and B3 can kill colon cancer cells: study (downtoearth)

In a first, a team of researchers has found that high doses of Vitamin C and niacin or Vitamin B3 can kill cancer stem cells. A study published in Cell Biology International showed the opposing effects of low and high dose of vitamin C and vitamin B3 on colon cancer stem cells. Led by Bipasha Bose and Sudheer Shenoy, the team found that while low doses (5-25 micromolar) of Vitamin C and B3 proliferate colon cancer stem cells, high doses (100 to 1,000 micromolar) killed cancer stem cells. Such high doses of vitamins can only be achieved through intravenous injections in colon cancer patients. The third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, colon cancer can be prevented by an intake of dietary fibre and lifestyle changes. While the next step of the researchers is to delineate the mechanisms involved in such opposing effects, they also hope to establish a therapeutic dose of Vitamin C and B3 for colon cancer stem cell therapy. “If the therapeutic dose gets validated under in vivo...

SC asks Centre to strike a balance on Rohingya issue (.hindu)

Supreme Court orally indicates that the government should not deport Rohingya “now” as the Centre prevails over it to not record any such views in its formal order, citing “international ramifications”. The Supreme Court on Friday came close to ordering the government not to deport the Rohingya. It finally settled on merely observing that a balance should be struck between humanitarian concern for the community and the country's national security and economic interests. The court was hearing a bunch of petitions, one filed by persons within the Rohingya community, against a proposed move to deport over 40,000 Rohingya refugees. A three-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, began by orally indicating that the government should not deport Rohingya “now”, but the government prevailed on the court to not pass any formal order, citing “international ramifications”. With this, the status quo continues even though the court gave the community liberty to approach i...