Two-fifths of the world’s plants are endangered, and scientists take part in an opposite race to time to save new species before they disappear, a report warns.
At the same time, others are not taking advantage of the many benefits that plants and fungi can offer, such as new medicines, energy crops or climate-resistant foods, according to the royal botanic gardens report in Kew.
The 2020 World Study on the State of Plants and Fungi, conducted through 210 scientists from 42 countries, examines how other people are plants and fungi lately, what opportunities are missed, and what would possibly be missed.
Professor Alexandre Antonelli, scientific director of RBG Kew, said that estimating two-fifths of endangered species “is a very worrying picture of the threat and an urgent need for action. “
“We are also losing the race against time, species are probably disappearing faster than we can locate and name, and many of them can simply involve vital clues to solve many urgent and demanding medical situations and even some of the emerging or existing pandemics. “he said.
New research shows that around 140,000 vascular plants, or 39. 4%, are endangered, more than the 2016 Kew Report on the State of Plants in the World, which estimates this figure at 21%.
Experts said the increase in number is due to more complicated conservation tests and new approaches to account for plants and spaces that were over or underrepresented in the previous analysis.
The biggest risk is the logging of herb habitats such as rainforest for agriculture, however, climate replacement is catching up and puts species at risk with emerging and extreme temperatures such as drought, mavens said.
Of the endangered species, 723 species are used for medicinal purposes, adding plants used to treat circulatory disorders, skin diseases and cough and colds, with overexploitation to some parts of the world.
Scientists identify new species the year, with 1942 plants and 1886 scientifically named fungi for the first time in 2019, adding new food plants and possible medicines.
But they warn that more investment and studies are to accelerate the identification, naming and conservation of species before they disappear.
The findings come with new plants connected to species that treat inflammation and malaria, as well as wild relatives of spinach, cassava and sweet potato, and 8 new species of fungi connected to the fungus “Old in the Forest”.
Experts said parents of wild foods provided genetic diversity that can simply expand crops that are resistant to disease or pests or more adapted to a changing climate.
And there are already 7,039 known edible plants that have the perspective of food security and nutrition by expanding the diet of people from the 15 crops that make up 90% of humanity’s food energy intake.
They can make food systems more diverse, nutritious, and resistant to threats like climate change, scientists said.
A species of pandanus that grows in the coastal lowlands of Hawaii in the Philippines and produces a giant pineapple-like fruit, and drought-resistant South African morama bean, which tastes like cashew nuts, may be among the foods of the future, the report says.
There are also 2,500 plants, as well as fungi, that can supply sustainable energy to millions of other people without electric power or blank cooking fuels, while only six are used for top-powered crops, he said.
Professor Antonelli said: “Knowledge of this year’s report paints an image of a world that has turned its back on the possibility of plants and fungi facing basic global disorders such as food security and climate change.
“At a time of immediate biodiversity loss, we cannot access the diversity treasure chest and we lack a great opportunity for our generation. “
But he said the report is hopeful that other people will simply adopt “nature-based solutions” to combat climate change, loss of nature and food security.
The report also proved the desire to plant more varied trees in cities, so that they continue to offer benefits such as cooling urban areas.
And he warned that beekeeping in London threatened other wild animals such as wild bees because there was not enough nectar and pollen in the city to feed pollinators.
The emphasis in the UK shows that, the plants are among the most studied in the world, there is no agreed list of single flowering plants in the country, and this is even more doubtful for fungi, making them difficult to preserve.
Even less is known about plants and fungi in British territories abroad, the report estimates that there are 4,093 species of flora in those areas, which led scientists to call for action to fill the gaps in wisdom.
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