Atlantic Forest tree species at risk of extinction

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo and published in Science found that 82 percent of the 2,500 endemic tree species of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest are at risk of extinction, including the emblematic brazilwood tree that gave the country its name.

According to the study, 13 species found only in the Atlantic Forest — and nowhere else in the world — are already extinct. On the other hand, five species thought to have disappeared were rediscovered.

The survey mapped more than 5,000 species from more than 3 million plant records, forest inventories, and biological databases. 

The findings go beyond a recent survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), based on data from the Environment Ministry, which listed 2,845 plant and animal species in the Atlantic Forest as threatened with extinction — nearly one in four species studied.

The Atlantic Forest is considered one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, but is the most threatened biome in Brazil. According to the environmental organization SOS Mata Atlântica, only 24 percent of the biome’s original forest coverage remains. The sheer devastation is explained by the fact that 72 percent of Brazilians live in areas that were originally native Atlantic Forest.

“Projections indicate that between 35 and 50 percent of the earth’s tree species may be threatened solely due to deforestation,” said Hans ter Steege, a researcher at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands and co-author of the study. 

Deforestation rates in the biome recorded a 59 percent annual decline between January and August 2023.

​​To ensure the protection of threatened species, the researchers suggest alternatives such as conservation in botanical gardens and genetic banks, in addition to public policies aimed at reforestation efforts.

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