A fifth of the world’s plant species are at risk of extinction, researchers warned on Tuesday, May 10th, in an unprecedented global census of the plant kingdom.
The survey by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London, said 21 per cent of species are under threat. The report, the first of its kind, is intended to become a global reference point for the study of plants.
The study, which estimates there are a total of 390,900 plants known to science, found farming to be the biggest extinction threat, representing 31 per cent of the total risk to plants.
Logging and the gathering of plants followed at 21.3 per cent, with construction work accounting for 12.8 per cent of the risk.
The threat of climate change and severe weather was estimated at making up 3.96 per cent, although scientists said it may be too early to measure the long- term effects.
