“A warning to humanity”: 17,500 species of trees will disappear from our world
A recent environmental study showed that green vegetation is facing real and dangerous problems that it would be wrong to ignore as the planet warms and the level of pollution spreads.
The study, which focused on specific species, said the loss of some species would not only endanger native forests;
Rather, it would threaten entire ecosystems.
Last year, a global assessment titled The State of the World's Trees found that a third of all tree species are currently teetering on the edge of existence.
This amounts to about 17,500 unique species of trees that are endangered, and according to estimates more than double the number of animals and crawlers at risk themselves, and some trees are even so rare that only one known species survives, such as the only pine in Mauritius, Hyophorbe amaricaulis.
The same team of researchers behind the State of the World's Trees reports issued a "warning to humanity" about the consequences of these losses, with support from 45 other scientists from 20 different countries.
Conservation biologist Malin Rivers of the Botanic Gardens International Conference and colleagues summarize the many impacts these losses will have on our economies, livelihoods and food.
According to many statistical studies, almost the majority of science food products come from trees, as is the case for many nuts and medicines, with the value of trade in non-wood products reaching 88 billion US dollars.
In the developing world, 880 million people depend on wood for fuel, and 1.6 billion people live within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the forest, and depend on it for food and income.
Trees contribute about US$1.3 trillion annually to the global economy, yet humans destroy billions of them annually - clearing vast swathes of land for agriculture and development.
Each tree is its own little world, teeming with all kinds of life, including plants, fungi, bacteria and other animals.
In fact, half of the world's animals and plants depend on tree habitats.
"The loss of habitat is often the loss of trees, and it's the basis for that when we look at extinction fears for animals or birds," Rivers told Nature World News.
“There is no way we can take care of all the other creatures out there if we do not take care of the trees.”
As with all living systems, the loss of diversity makes the entire mixture of living connections more vulnerable.
Some tree species present unique interactions and cannot be replaced by others.
This includes the distinctive dragon blood trees (Dracaena cinnabari), left over from ancient forests, which host many other species that depend entirely on them, including many other plants and the gecko that pollinates them.
So the extinction of one species can cause a massive domino effect across everything else it interacts with, even if it's already rare.
The species that depend on our diminishing forests have already declined by 53% since 1970, and more forests around the world are showing signs of increasing stress.
Trees are intertwined with Earth's soil, atmosphere, and weather - to purify the air and produce oxygen. Trees store three-quarters of the world's accessible fresh water and more than half of the problematic carbon dioxide. If we lose enough trees, the cycle of The carbon, water and nutrients of our planet will collapse.
Rivers believes that much more needs to be done to combat this on a collective level, by "recognizing the importance of trees and fighting our plant blindness."
Noting that earlier this year, researchers noted that "there are fewer people in the UK receiving a botanical education than ever before at a time when we need plants more than ever".
Rivers and his fellow leaders hope to better integrate trees into climate policies and provide them with greater protection.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news