Lions have been dubbed the king of the jungle, but one could argue the real royalty are the trees, the massive woody beasts that hold down the land and root the web of life that teems around them. In Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America), which hosts 10% of all plant life on Earth despite covering […]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/24584255

  • Of the more than 4,000 known tree species found only in Mesoamerica, nearly half are threatened with extinction, according a new assessment.
  • Agriculture emerges as the primary threat across the region from both small- and large-scale farming, while logging represents the second major threat in five countries.
  • While 72% of threatened tree species occur within protected areas, only 16% of endemic threatened species have recorded conservation actions, and just 18% are protected in botanical collections, highlighting significant gaps in active conservation efforts.
  • With 515 threatened tree species shared between countries, researchers emphasize the need for international collaboration and incorporating native threatened species into large-scale tree-planting efforts rather than focusing solely on fast-growing nonnative species.

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Animal agriculture is the leading cause of both deforestation and species extinction.