|
 Researchers said on Friday that if recent trends continued,
between 36 and 57 percent of the estimated 15,000 Amazonian tree
species likely would qualify as threatened with extinction under
criteria used by the group that makes such determinations, the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The study covered roughly 2.1 million square miles (5.5 million
square km) spanning Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador,
Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The researchers
analyzed Amazonian forest surveys and data on current and projected
deforestation areas.
"Many of the species that we suggest may be threatened are
used by Amazonian residents on a daily basis, and many others
are crucial to Amazonian economies," conservation ecologist
Nigel Pitman of the Field Museum in Chicago.
 These range from wild populations of economically important food
crops like the Brazil nut, açaí fruit and heart of palm, to valuable
timber species, to several hundred species that Amazonian residents
depend upon for fruits, seeds, thatch, medicines, latex and
essential oils, Pitman said.
The trees also are important in their ecosystems for erosion control
and climate moderation, Pitman said.
"Scientists have been raising the alarm about Amazonian
deforestation for several decades, and projections indicate that
forest loss will continue for the foreseeable future," said forest
ecologist Hans ter Steege of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in
the Netherlands.
[to top of second column] |
"The good news is that over the last 10 years the rate of forest
loss in the Amazon has dropped dramatically."
Amazonian forests have been shrinking since the 1950s as people cut
and burn areas for farming, ranching and development. Until now,
there has been no reliable estimate of how many tree species were
threatened with extinction.
"Yes, the threats are daunting, but it's important to remember that
more than 85 percent of forests in the greater Amazon are still
standing," Pitman said.
The researchers said Amazon parks, reserves and indigenous
territories, if managed well, should be able to protect most of the
threatened species. Previous research found Amazon forests already
have dwindled by about 12 percent and will decline up to another 28
percent by 2050.
The research was published in the journal Science Advances.
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
