US Native Trees on the Brink of Extinction. Only 8 of these trees are protected by US Government.
The Beginning- A World Wide Problem
A worldwide problem initiated this historic study.
Only one third of the world’s trees have an assessment for their risk for extinction.
To address this Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) initiated the Global Tree Assessment project in 2015. They began by targeting trees native to United States.
The team set out to fill in two knowledge gaps.
- comprehensive checklist of US trees
- up to date threat assessments.
“Through initiatives like the Global Tree Assessment, tree research and conservation has evolved from a series of small individual efforts to a global venture grounded in collaborative, scientifically-backed strategies,” said Murphy Westwood, Ph.D.(vice president of science and conservation at The Morton Arboretum and senior author of the report). “The checklist is a major milestone for trees, but most importantly, our hope is that this study will inform and amplify the scope of tree conservation efforts across the country”.
The journal Plants People Planet published the study in January 2022. It takes a close look at trees native to the continental United States.
What did they find?
Researchers accomplished to generate a universally recognized, comprehensive checklist of native tree species, something the United States has not yet managed to do.
The checklist of trees native to the United States contains 881 species.
US Native Trees on the Brink of Extinction, 11% -16% of US tree species are threatened with extinction. Only 8 of these trees have protection by the Endangered Species Act.
95% (849) of native U.S. tree species are located in at least one ex-situ collection, such as a botanic garden, arboretum, or seed bank. However botanical collections are not conserving 17 threatened tree species. They have no insurance policy against extinction.
They identified the most common threats facing US tree species as: invasive/ problematic species and diseases, climate change and severe weather, natural system modification, agriculture, and commercial development.
Why is this study so important?
The global ecosystem depends on trees. Trees act as a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide, clean the air of pollutants and regulate the water cycles. Each year the world’s forests capture 24% of global carbon emissions.
However, that capturing effect is diminishing due to the increase of clear cutting and burning forests.
Humans have relied on trees for food, medicine and materials to make shelters. Trees are responsible for generating a breathable atmosphere with high levels of oxygen.
The extinction of trees will have an impact on the complex ecosystem of forests. Including the delicate fungal networks below ground.
The Future of these Trees
This team of researchers are working towards contributing to international conservation goals, with US native trees on the brink of extinction.
The Global Tree Assessment aims to complete threat assessments for all the world’s species.
Currently, 60,000 have been identified species.
Only one-third of those species have been assessed for their threat status.
The authors of the global tree list recognize the dynamic nature of this list and its likelihood to grow.
These groups are now just understanding the scope of the world’s tree diversity. At the same time just beginning to grasp the scope of extinction within these species. The prioritization of data collection and threat assessment will bring forward worldwide conservation action and prevention of extinction.
A Call to Action
Westwood says “We have the technology and resources to shift the needle,” she says. “We can make a difference. We have to try.”
