Trees in the world are in critical danger, with an impressive number of termination of extinction, according to a new global analysis released on Monday.
The project of a decade found that more than one in three tree species is threatened with extinction, highlighting the scale of the crisis that the ecosystems of our planet face.
The report to the Red List of the International Union for Naturera Conservation (IUCN), which was launched during the UN conference of two weeks in Cali, Colombia, revealed that of the 47,282 trees evaluated, at least 16,425 run the risk of disappearing – more than double the number of all birds, mammals, reptiles and threatened amphibians from extinction. combined.
Pollution by fossil fuels that warms the planet is threatening the trees, which absorb this pollution from the atmosphere, which means that its loss is exacerbating the climate crisis.
Some of the main threats that trees also face also include deforestation for urban development, agriculture, invasive species, diseases, as well as increased sea level and more intense storms, the researchers say.
The list reveals how “tree loss directly threatens thousands of other species, plants, fungi and animals, demonstrating how deeply interconnected our natural world is,” said Grethel Aguilar, Director General of IUCN, during a press conference in Colombia on Monday.
“The trees are the barometer of life,” added Aguilar. They produce oxygen that humans breathe, provide food and shelter for wildlife, give drugs and support to indigenous peoples and absorb carbon pollution that retains heat from the atmosphere.
The largest proportion of threatened trees is found on islands such as Fiji, Cuba and Madagascar. In South America, which houses the Amazon rainforest, 3,356 of the 13,668 evaluated tree species are at risk of extinction due to deforestation for cultivation and livestock.
The red list is considered the most comprehensive global source for information on threatened species and extinction. The index categorizes species among those of lower concern, almost threatened, vulnerable, in danger, critically in danger and extinct. These classifications are based on the size of the population, distribution, habitat loss and other threats, such as a.
Being listed as a threatened species means that the species faces the risk of extinction, sending a serious warning signal that requires governments and organizations to take urgent conservation efforts to prevent the extinction of a species.
These efforts need to start with the trees, said Aguilar.
“Can you imagine a planet without trees?” She added. “We humans are able to reverse this and save these trees on which we depend, so the task we have is huge.”
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