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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    40% of plants are threatened with extinction

    The extinction risk to plants could be worse than previously thought, according to a landmark report.

    The State of the World's Plants and Fungi report from Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG) Kew estimated that 39.4% of plants are now threatened with extinction. It's a jump from one in five plants thought to be at risk in Kew's 2016 report.

    Researchers say the planet may be losing plant species more quickly than science can find, name and study them, which could have big consequences in the search for food crops that are resilient in the face of climate change and new medicines.

    Kew's work is an in-depth look into how plants and fungi are doing all over the world and is the result of a huge international collaboration bringing together 210 scientists from 42 countries. It shows how humans are currently using plants and fungi, what useful properties we are missing, and what we risk losing.


    The Museum's Prof Juliet Brodie provided a specialist focus on seaweeds for the report. She describes seaweeds as the 'Cinderella subject of the sea' due to their essential role in underwater ecosystems, yet the
    lack of protection we give them impacts our chances of fully understanding them.


    The wider report highlights the pressing need to explore the solutions that plants and fungi could provide to address some of the pressures facing people and planet. Plants and fungi are the building blocks of life on planet Earth, they have the potential to solve urgent problems that threaten human life, but these vital resources are being compromised by biodiversity loss.

    Juliet says, 'Seaweed is fundamental to shallow water ecosystems. For example, kelp forests provide habitats for a huge array of marine organisms, they protect our coasts from erosion and help promote species diversity.

    'Yet, like so many species in this new report, we have exposed how little we know about these irreplaceable organisms. As we continue to exploit our coastal ecosystems, seaweeds face a race against time for us to understand and protect them before it's too late.'

    The increase in plants thought to be at risk is due to more sophisticated conservation assessments and better ways of studying biodiversity. The new approach used by scientists this year predicted the overall proportion of threatened species to be 39.4%, almost double the 21% of global plant species estimated to be threatened with extinction in 2016.

    Lots of those are plants that are regularly used in medicines which save the lives of millions of people every year.

    Prof Alexandre Antonelli, Director of Science at RBG Kew, says, 'The data emerging from this year's report paint a picture of a world that has turned its back on the potential of plants and fungi to address fundamental global issues such as food security and climate change.

    'Societies have been too dependent on too few species for too long. At a time of rapid biodiversity loss, we are failing to access the treasure chest of incredible diversity on offer and missing a huge opportunity for our generation.


    'As we start the most critical decade our planet has ever faced, we hope this report will give the public, businesses and policymakers the facts they need to demand nature-based solutions that can address the triple threats of climate change, biodiversity loss and food security.'


    40% of plants are threatened with extinction | Natural History Museum

  2. #2
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    Iceman123's Avatar
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    I better alert the wife, she has 3 or 4 pot plants dotted around the house.

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat Backspin's Avatar
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    Ridiculous green radical nonsense

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Backspin View Post
    Ridiculous green radical nonsense
    ..... because Socal knows everything, and he has all the answers ......

  5. #5
    Thailand Expat harrybarracuda's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Switch View Post
    ..... because Socal knows everything, and he has all the answers ......
    Well fucking hell, all this time I thought he was just a retard.

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