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Corlett RT. Achieving zero extinction for land plants. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 28:913-923. [PMID: 37142532 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2023.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite the importance of plants for humans and the threats to their future, plant conservation receives far less support compared with vertebrate conservation. Plants are much cheaper and easier to conserve than are animals, but, although there are no technical reasons why any plant species should become extinct, inadequate funding and the shortage of skilled people has created barriers to their conservation. These barriers include the incomplete inventory, the low proportion of species with conservation status assessments, partial online data accessibility, varied data quality, and insufficient investment in both in and ex situ conservation. Machine learning, citizen science (CS), and new technologies could mitigate these problems, but we need to set national and global targets of zero plant extinction to attract greater support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard T Corlett
- Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China; Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China.
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Mesaglio T, Sauquet H, Coleman D, Wenk E, Cornwell WK. Photographs as an essential biodiversity resource: drivers of gaps in the vascular plant photographic record. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 238:1685-1694. [PMID: 36913725 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The photographic record is increasingly becoming an important biodiversity resource for primary research and conservation monitoring. However, globally, there are important gaps in this record even in relatively well-researched floras. To quantify the gaps in the Australian native vascular plant photographic record, we systematically surveyed 33 sources of well-curated species photographs, assembling a list of species with accessible and verifiable photographs, as well as the species for which this search failed. Of 21 077 Australian native species, 3715 lack a verifiable photograph across our 33 surveyed resources. There are three major geographic hotspots of unphotographed species in Australia, all far from current population centres. Many unphotographed species are small in stature or uncharismatic, and many are also recently described. The large number of recently described species without accessible photographs was surprising. There are longstanding efforts in Australia to organise the plant photographic record, but in the absence of a global consensus to treat photographs as an essential biodiversity resource, this has not become common practice. Many recently described species are small-range endemics and some have special conservation status. Completing the botanical photographic record across the globe will facilitate a virtuous feedback loop of more efficient identification, monitoring and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Mesaglio
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Hervé Sauquet
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
- National Herbarium of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
| | - David Coleman
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Wenk
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - William K Cornwell
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
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