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Jordan Davidson Jun. 11, 2019 11:51AM EST Popular Cyanea superba, endemic to the island of Oahu and now extinct in the wild. David Eickhoff / CC BY 2.0 Researchers have found that nearly 600 plant extinctions have taken place over the last two and a half centuries, according to a new paper published in Nature Ecology and Evolution. The 571 proven plant extinctions lost since 1753 is twice the number of animal species lost in the same time frame and nearly four times as many plants lost as botanists recently estimated. The researchers with the Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK and Stockholm University also noted that many plant species disappeared without anyone ever knowing about them, pushing the true number of extinctions much higher. The extinction rate — 500 times greater now than before the Industrial Revolution — is also quite alarming, according to The Guardian. This number, too, is likely an underestimate. "This study is the first time we have an overview of what plants have already become extinct, where they have disappeared from and how quickly this is happening," said Aelys Humphreys, Ph.D., of Stockholm University, the BBC reported. The paper documented all known plant extinctions in the world, finding that most lost plants were in the tropics and on islands. The researchers created a map that showed South Africa, Australia, Brazil, India, Madagascar and Hawaii as particular hotspots for plant extinction, according to The Guardian. So what's causing the rapid rate of plant extinction? The main culprit is human activity like clear cutting forests for timber and converting land into fields for agriculture. The researchers note that their paper also shows what lessons can be learned to stop future extinctions. "Plants underpin all life on Earth," said Eimear Nic Lughadha, Ph.D., at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, who was part of the research team, as The Guardian reported. "They provide the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat, as well as making up the backbone of the world's ecosystems – so plant extinction is bad news for all species." Life on Earth relies on plants for oxygen and food. And, the extinction of one plant can lead to cascading effects that threaten to harm other species that rely on the plant for food or for a place to lay eggs, the BBC reports. "Millions of other species depend on plants for their survival, humans included, so knowing which plants we are losing and from where, will feed back into conservation programs targeting other organisms as well," Nic Lughadha said, as the BBC reported. The researchers highlighted steps to slow down plant extinctions including, recording all plants in the world, preserving specimens, funding botanists and educating children to recognize local plants, according to the BBC. The research comes on the heels of other grim reports that have highlighted the destruction humans have caused. Last month, a UN report said that one million of Earth's eight million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. Contribute A new Trump administration rollback of EPA regulations could allow plants to emit two to ten times more hazardous air pollutants than before. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
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40 Percent of World's Plants at Risk of Extinction, New Report FindsJordan Davidson 4 minutes A grim new assessment of the world's flora and fungi has found that two-fifths of its species are at risk of extinction as humans encroach on the natural world, as The Guardian reported. That puts the number of species at risk near 140,000. The new report, State of the World's Plants and Fungi 2020, and an accompanying short video were published by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and depict an international effort from hundreds of scientists from 42 countries who analyzed the health of thousands of animal species. The researchers looked at how people are interacting with plants, how plants and fungi are being used, and what opportunities people are missing, as The Irish Times reported. The report highlights that plants are crucial to sustaining life as they provide food, medicine, raw materials, fuel and food. And yet, the report notes, "Never before has the biosphere, the thin layer of life we call home, been under such intensive and urgent threat. Deforestation rates have soared as we have cleared land to feed ever-more people, global emissions are disrupting the climate system, new pathogens threaten our crops and our health, illegal trade has eradicated entire plant populations, and non-native species are outcompeting local floras. Biodiversity is being lost – locally, regionally and globally." The report notes that scientists are racing against the clock to rescue plant and fungi species and they are also working to figure out how to leverage plants and fungi to combat the climate crisis and food insecurity, according to the BBC. When Kew issued its first report in 2016, it found that 20 percent of plant species were at risk. That number has doubled in just four years. However, that does not mean that twice as many plant species are at risk. Instead, the huge jump in percentage is due to advances in assessments that now make a more accurate account for plants that were over- or underrepresented in the 2016 report, according to The Irish Times. The fact that 40 percent of plant species are at risk paints "a very worrying picture of risk and urgent need for action," according to Alexandre Antonelli, director of science at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, as The Irish Times reported. "We are also losing the race against time, species are probably disappearing faster than we can find and name, and many of them could hold important clues for solving many of the pressing challenges of medicine and perhaps even some of the emerging or current pandemics," he added. The scientists involved in the research noted that more than 4,000 plant and fungi species were discovered last year. These plants are an untapped resource that holds tremendous promise as food, medicine and biofuels, according to the paper, as The Guardian reported. Some of the new species discovered include members of the onion family, plants similar to spinach, and relatives of the staple crop cassava. Around the world, billions depend on plants as their primary source of medicine. The report noted that 723 species used as therapeutic treatments are threatened with extinction. "We would not be able to survive without plants and fungi. All life depends on them, and it is really time to open the treasure chest," said Antonelli, as The Guardian reported. "Every time we lose a species, we lose an opportunity for humankind." Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Posted by: Keith MacCallum Review here: https://www.ser.org/news/502112/Diversity-is-Magic-Emerging-issues-in-selecting-appropriate-native-plant-materials.htm Webinar: Selecting species and seed from appropriate sources to maximize project success faces many challenges. This presentation will review plant selection for ecosystem diversity that supports economically and ecologically practical outcomes. Habitat degradation and loss have accelerated globally, resulting in loss of biological diversity and species endangerment at unprecedented scales. Restoring habitats that provide ecosystem services necessary for all life is crucial. One of the biggest hurdles to habitat restoration is the availability of seeds of native plants to provide a diverse and resilient base of the food chain. Plant diversity is now clearly a fundamental driver of ecosystem services and the diversity of other organisms, and native plant diversity is needed because invasive plants tend to reduce diversity and homogenize vegetation on the landscape. Seeding with native plants is one of the few reliable methods of restoring diversity at all levels, even in the face of climate change and controversial novel ecosystems. Therefore, selecting and sourcing the right plants for restoration sites is vital for the successful establishment of diverse and resilient native ecosystems. This presentation webinar will describe the results of recent published and unpublished research on local adaptation, successful creation of diverse regional seed admixtures, the importance of landscape context, and innovative species selection strategies and tools. Speaker: Dr. Tom Kaye is founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE), a nonprofit organization with a mission to conserve native habitats and species through research, restoration, and education. Tom serves on the board of directors of the Society for Ecological Restoration and he is a courtesy Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University. Tom conducts research on rare species reintroductions, habitat restoration, plant invasions, and plant population responses to climate change, and engages prison inmates in conservation through the Sagebrush in Prisons Project. Sourcing native plants for restoration is a key area of interest, research and publication for Dr. Kaye. He serves as a Commission Member on the IUCN SSC Seed Conservation Specialist Group. By Sally Cunningham (for the Buffalo News, March 2018, after the WNY appearance of Dr. Douglas Tallamy, hosted by the WNY Land Conservancy and Erie County Master Gardeners)
{Dr. Tallamy presented to an audience of—mostly—the believers: people who understand the importance of habitat protection. These are some notes from that talk, to reach everyone else.} First, the basics: There is very little nature left. More than 94% of people live in cities or suburbs. About 84% of the land East of the Mississippi is privately owned (with similar numbers in the other half of the country). A large percentage of so-called open space is in agriculture, used for mono-crops (corn, soybeans) or grazing, where biodiversity is scant. Huge acreage is paved for highways, malls, sports or other non-residential purposes. Much so-called greenspace is mostly turfgrass, used for running, biking, or other human activity, and it has little or no ecological value. Where we have anything resembling natural habitat, as in parks and rural property, it is fragmented with so little connectivity that genetic diversity is disappearing. Many species require specific expanses of acreage for survival. Bio-diversity, as in a rainforest, is the secret to survival of life on the planet as we have known it. But we humans have altered or degraded at least 60% of the earth’s eco-systems. Where then do we go from here? As scientists, leaders, gardeners, or just caring citizens, what can we do to achieve the least of the worst possible outcomes? We can’t go back to Longfellow’s “forest primeval” (and most people wouldn’t want to), but we can make positive choices at home. And remember that private citizens own most of the land: Our yards must become the habitats that support or at least replace some eco-systems. Bio-diversity and native plants When I wrote Great Garden Companions (Rodale Books) twenty years ago, I was promoting the idea that diversity is the key to a healthy organic garden. If you avoid mono-cropping, and plant vegetables together with herbs and flowers in certain combinations, you will attract and keep beneficial insects around (and birds, frogs, amphibians etc.) The community of predators and prey will handle most pest problems. Mixed, diverse planting covers the ground, supports pollinators, and thwarts weeds. Building healthy soil and banning pesticides were/are the other tenets of the system. Such “companion gardens” are a microcosm of what happens in nature—to a point. Then came the invasive species threat. Soil and Water Conservation leaders, forest biologists, Cornell educators and others were actively teaching that non-native invasive species were out-competing native species (plants and animals) and destroying habitat. Why? Because away from their own lands (where they are eaten) some plants can thrive and spread rampantly here—where they have no natural enemies (nothing that eats them). Statistics are overwhelming, but the loss of habitat, the spread of invasive species, exacerbated by climate change, are causing species extinction at 1000 times the natural rate. (Data: U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity 2010). More than 450 species of North American birds are at risk of extinction; we have 1.5 billion fewer breeding birds than forty years ago; the lists go on. (Read: State of the Birds, 2016) Understanding this, naturalists and horticulturists passionately promoted native plants, opposed non-native invasive plants, and pressed for bio-diversity in our fields, forests, and yards. We argued that native plants belong here, and generally do well in the soil and climate where they originated. We were right to press for native plants, but we didn’t yet have tools to make the strongest case. Enter Doctor Tallamy It is rare for great numbers of gardeners, educators, and experts to proclaim in unison that one guy turned their heads around, but a mild-mannered professor of entomology (University of Delaware) certainly did so. WNY Land Conservancy’s Nancy Smith, wildflower lecturer Lyn Chimera, and I are examples of many who changed our teaching and goals based on his book, Bringing Nature Home (Timber Press). {Recently Dr. Tallamy has published Nature’s Best Hope.} This is the lesson in its simplest form: Insects are the foundation of the web of life. Many of our native insects (that feed the fish, birds, amphibians) are leaf-eaters (or they eat leaf-eaters). What leaves can they eat? Insect herbivores must have the plants with which they co-evolved over millions of years. Without insects, eco-systems collapse. Native insects must have native plants! So now we know: Bio-diversity is not enough. We want diverse plantings--but we must use native species. Even if it’s just a portion of every property, let’s add as many natives (and lots of other pollinator plants) in our flower-filled yards in Buffalo, and around our suburban and country homes. Let us also support organizations such as the WNY Land Conservancy that invest in habitat restoration projects such as the Niagara Gorge Restoration and the Stella Niagara Preserve. Not all native plants are equal We learned another important truth: Some plants, called keystone plants are far superior for the eco-system services they offer. Tallamy and his entomology students count and analyze the specialized relationships between insects, birds, and plants, as in this example. Chickadee case study Like 96% of terrestrial birds, chickadees rear their young on insects. The insects that baby birds can eat are caterpillars—soft and digestible. The Carolina chickadee requires 5000 or 6000 caterpillars to rear a clutch of three babies for about sixteen days. One pair of birds delivered a caterpillar every three minutes (including seventeen species of insects). Other counts showed the parents flying in with 400 to 570 caterpillars daily. And where are the caterpillars? They’re on native trees (where you’ll never notice them), such as white oaks, wild cherries, willows, and birches. They must be nearby, or the exhausted parents won’t find the food. Choose these trees and help the birds. {In one study, students counted 2 caterpillars on a mature gingko tree; a native oak nearby held 450 caterpillars.} The chickadees are just one little representative group, just as monarch butterflies are symbols of hundreds of other important, endangered species. The human footprint has made most “nature” unsustainable unless we actively assist. The message is weighty. Scientists are not here to spare us unpleasant truths. But we know what we have to do: Plant the right native plants in suitable sites—as often as possible. Assessing the Nation’s Native Seed Supply Webinar:
4/28/20 @ 12:00 PM (EST) by Dr. Susan B. Harrison Register here - https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oHrvH3rvQ-qNWul9xbYkUw The nation needs native plants, which are central to restoring critical natural landscapes after wildland fires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters, and damage caused by invasive species. The demand for native plant seeds is coming from the public and private sectors to support wildlife; to redress the impacts of man-made disturbances and, for “green” infrastructure and urban landscaping. Currently, the market for matching a critical need for native plants species with a supplier is unstable. The number and types of entities that need native plant materials has never been well documented, nor has the scale and diversity of native seeds uses. On the supply side, there are informal, formal not-for-profit, and commercial seed collectors, producers, and sellers. The fragmented system sometimes leads to shortages due to predictable, but large-scale disaster events that consume existing supply, and also because having a supply of the “right” seed on hand requires advanced planning. The lack of a clear picture of the seed supply makes it difficult to estimate the nation's true capacity to provide native seeds on a reliable basis, leading to a continual cycle of substitution. The first goal of the National Seed Strategy (developed by the Plant Conservation Alliance and through an MOU of 12 federal agencies) is to assess the national public and private demand for native plants, and the existing and potential capacity to supply them. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study is in the first phase of a two-part project to provide the holistic view needed to put the nation’s native seed supply on a more solid foundation. In the next phase, input from organizations (states, land trusts, non-profits) that needs seeds for ecological restoration is needed. This presentation will aim to make the case for getting those entities to participate in the assessment. Doug Tallamy, author and professor at University of Delaware, wrote about how every garden could include native plants and would help support pollinators. Doug has written three books Bringing Nature Home, The Garden Revolution with Rick Darke and his soon to be published Natures Best Hope. He has written three books: Bringing Nature Home, The Garden Revolution with Rick Darke, and soon to be available Natures Best Hope. Doug Tallamy also presents on this topic regularly and has been featured on Growing a Greener World episode 1008 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=BETK1RCOj0Y). Please see more information here: http://www.bringingnaturehome.net/ The NYS Flora atlas is a database of plants found in the state maintained by the University of South Florida. Plant lists are searchable by county, common name and scientific name. You can also download the plant list of your county, sort the list by category and determine which plants are native to your county.
http://newyork.plantatlas.usf.edu/ |
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