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Brummitt NA, Bachman SP, Griffiths-Lee J, Lutz M, Moat JF, Farjon A, Donaldson JS, Hilton-Taylor C, Meagher TR, Albuquerque S, Aletrari E, Andrews AK, Atchison G, Baloch E, Barlozzini B, Brunazzi A, Carretero J, Celesti M, Chadburn H, Cianfoni E, Cockel C, Coldwell V, Concetti B, Contu S, Crook V, Dyson P, Gardiner L, Ghanim N, Greene H, Groom A, Harker R, Hopkins D, Khela S, Lakeman-Fraser P, Lindon H, Lockwood H, Loftus C, Lombrici D, Lopez-Poveda L, Lyon J, Malcolm-Tompkins P, McGregor K, Moreno L, Murray L, Nazar K, Power E, Quiton Tuijtelaars M, Salter R, Segrott R, Thacker H, Thomas LJ, Tingvoll S, Watkinson G, Wojtaszekova K, Nic Lughadha EM. Green Plants in the Red: A Baseline Global Assessment for the IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0135152. [PMID: 26252495 PMCID: PMC4529080 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2014] [Accepted: 07/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants provide fundamental support systems for life on Earth and are the basis for all terrestrial ecosystems; a decline in plant diversity will be detrimental to all other groups of organisms including humans. Decline in plant diversity has been hard to quantify, due to the huge numbers of known and yet to be discovered species and the lack of an adequate baseline assessment of extinction risk against which to track changes. The biodiversity of many remote parts of the world remains poorly known, and the rate of new assessments of extinction risk for individual plant species approximates the rate at which new plant species are described. Thus the question 'How threatened are plants?' is still very difficult to answer accurately. While completing assessments for each species of plant remains a distant prospect, by assessing a randomly selected sample of species the Sampled Red List Index for Plants gives, for the first time, an accurate view of how threatened plants are across the world. It represents the first key phase of ongoing efforts to monitor the status of the world's plants. More than 20% of plant species assessed are threatened with extinction, and the habitat with the most threatened species is overwhelmingly tropical rain forest, where the greatest threat to plants is anthropogenic habitat conversion, for arable and livestock agriculture, and harvesting of natural resources. Gymnosperms (e.g. conifers and cycads) are the most threatened group, while a third of plant species included in this study have yet to receive an assessment or are so poorly known that we cannot yet ascertain whether they are threatened or not. This study provides a baseline assessment from which trends in the status of plant biodiversity can be measured and periodically reassessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil A. Brummitt
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
| | - Steven P. Bachman
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | | | - Maiko Lutz
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Justin F. Moat
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
- School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Aljos Farjon
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - John S. Donaldson
- South African National Biodiversity Institute, KRC, Private Bag X7, Claremont, South Africa
| | | | - Thomas R. Meagher
- School of Biology, Dyers Brae, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom
| | | | - Elina Aletrari
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
- King's College London, Strand, London, United Kingdom
| | - A. Kei Andrews
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Guy Atchison
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Alice Brunazzi
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Julia Carretero
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Marco Celesti
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Chadburn
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Chris Cockel
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Sara Contu
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Vicki Crook
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Philippa Dyson
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren Gardiner
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Nadia Ghanim
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Greene
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alice Groom
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Ruth Harker
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Della Hopkins
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sonia Khela
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Heather Lindon
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Helen Lockwood
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Debora Lombrici
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Lucia Lopez-Poveda
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - James Lyon
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Kirsty McGregor
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Moreno
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Linda Murray
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Keara Nazar
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Power
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Ruth Salter
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Segrott
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah Thacker
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | | | - Sarah Tingvoll
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Gemma Watkinson
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom
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