Over 20% of World's plants face extinction threat
An indepth study carried out by the Natural History Museum in London and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has concluded that up to 20% of all the plants on Earth are threatened by extinction. Stephen Hopper, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in London, said the report on plant loss was the most accurate mapping yet of the threat to the planet's estimated 380,000 plant species."This study confirms what we already suspected, that plants are under threat and the main cause is human-induced habitat loss," Hopper said at the launch of the so-called Sampled Red List Index. "We cannot sit back and watch plant species disappear -- plants are the basis of all life on Earth, providing clean air, water, food and fuel. All animal and bird life depends on them, and so do we."
In their study, researchers assessed almost 4,000 species, of which 22% were classed as threatened, especially in rain forests. Plants were more threatened than birds, as threatened as mammals and less threatened than amphibians or corals, it said. Gymnosperms, the plant group including fir trees, were the most threatened. The greatest peril came from man-induced habitat loss, mostly the conversion of natural habitats for crops or livestock. Human activity accounted for 81% of threats.
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