Some 64,000 tree species have already been catalogued.
A team of researchers estimated that more than 9,000 tree species remain to be discovered on Earth, according to a study published Monday.
“Estimating the number of tree species is essential to guide, optimize and prioritize efforts to preserve forests around the world,” underlines this study in which dozens of scientists participated and which was published in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (Pnas).
Some 64,000 tree species have already been catalogued. But according to this study, carried out from a more complete database and with a more advanced statistical method than the previous ones, the total number of species would be around 73,300, that is, 14% more.
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This means that some 9,200 species remain to be discovered.
Overall, about 43% of all species are found in South America, followed by Eurasia (22%), Africa (16%), North America (15%) and Oceania (11%), according to the study.
At least half and perhaps as many as two-thirds of all known species are found in tropical or subtropical forests on five continents, the researchers estimate.
Many of the species yet to be identified should therefore be found in these regions, where fewer studies are conducted.
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Furthermore, scientists estimate that almost a third of the world’s species are rare and therefore more vulnerable to the threat of extinction.
Only 0.1% of the species are present on the five continents.
South America has the highest proportion (49%) of endemic species, that is, only present on this continent.
“These results highlight the vulnerability of the world’s tree species diversity,” the study authors write, particularly in the face of “anthropogenic land use and future climate.”
“Losing regions of forest with these rare species will have a direct and potentially long-term impact on global species diversity and their contribution to ecosystem services,” they added. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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