Abstract
Biodiversity is declining globally, yet many biodiversity hotspots still lack comprehensive species conservation assessments. Using multiple International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria to evaluate extinction risks and millions of herbarium and forest inventory records, we present automated conservation assessments for all tree species of the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot, including ~1100 heretofore unassessed species. About 65% of all species and 82% of endemic species are classified as threatened. We rediscovered five species classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List and identified 13 endemics as possibly extinct. Uncertainties in species information had little influence on the assessments, but using fewer Red List criteria severely underestimated threat levels. We suggest that the conservation status of tropical forests worldwide is worse than previously reported.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 219-225 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Science |
| Volume | 383 |
| Issue number | 6679 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 12 Jan 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
Funding
We thank H. R. Akçakaya and CNCFlora staff (P. da Rosa, G. Martinelli, E. Martins, R. Loyola, P. H. A. de Melo, and T. L. B. da Cunha) for advice on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Special thanks go to M. Rivers and E. Beech [Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)] for reviewing the methods used to generate the conservation assessments. We acknowledge J. S. Wright and H. Muller-Landau (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) for their input on the estimation of age of first reproduction and C. Canteiro (Global Center for Species Survival, Indianapolis Zoo) for the clarifications of the GL used in previous IUCN Red List assessments. We also thank M. Barstow and E. Beech (BGCI) for providing their list of commercial timber species. This research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 795114 (R.A.F.d.L. and H.t.S.). Forest inventory data was funded by grants 2013/08722-5 [São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)], 312075/2013-8 [Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)], and 2017TR1922 [Santa Catarina Research Foundation (FAPESC)] to R.A.F.d.L., P.I.P., A.C.V., and A.L.d.G. A.L.d.G., A.C.V., M.F.d.S., and P.I.P. were supported by CNPq grants 311303/2020-0, 305199/ 2022-6, 310206/2019-7, and 313055/2020-3, respectively.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| CNCFlora staff | |
| Santa Catarina Research Foundation | |
| Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | |
| Horizon 2020 Framework Programme | |
| H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions | 795114, 2013/08722-5 |
| Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo | 2017TR1922, 312075/2013-8 |
| Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico | 305199/ 2022-6, 310206/2019-7, 313055/2020-3, 311303/2020-0 |
| Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina |