More than half of palm tree species may be threatened with extinction

To better understand these risks, their impact on palm diversity and the wider environment, as well as their impact on humans; The study authors believe there is still more work to be done.

Wild palm trees support the livelihoods of millions of people globally , and scientists have recently used artificial intelligence (AI) to help estimate the extinction risk of many species of palm trees .

In a new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution on September 26, scientists estimated the condition of nearly 1,900 palm species using artificial intelligence, and found that more than a thousand species may be at risk. extinction.

New technologies

An international team of researchers from Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens, the University of Zurich and the University of Amsterdam has combined data on the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) red list with new machine learning techniques to paint a clearer picture of How to threaten the palm.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species is a gold standard for assessing the conservation status of animal, plant and fungal species. But there are gaps in the Red List that need to be addressed, as not all species are listed, and many assessments need to be updated. Conservation efforts are further complicated by insufficient funding and the enormous time required to manually assess species.

However, the scientists are confident that initial assessments of the species' conservation status can be greatly accelerated using artificial intelligence. To this end, researchers are developing new techniques to estimate the extinction risk of thousands of plant species, aiding efforts to expand and update the IUCN Red List.

Biodiversity crisis

“The biodiversity crisis dictates that we must take urgent action to halt biodiversity loss, ” says Dr Stephen Backman, research leader of the Conservation Analysis and Assessment Team, in a Royal Botanic Gardens press release . “We need to use all the tools at our disposal - such as forecasting and automation - to make Rapid and robust assessments. Adding plants to the Red List is one of the vital steps conservationists can take to raise awareness of endangered species."

In their latest study, the researchers used machine learning to estimate the extinction risk of more than 1,000 palm species . Using artificial intelligence and existing Red List data, they were able to study how extinction risk relates to palm distribution and the environment, and predicted an increased risk of extinction for 1,381 species.

The newly discovered data were then combined with available Red List assessments to determine the extinction risk of 1,889 species of the palm family, and they concluded that more than a thousand species may be threatened with extinction.

Half of evolutionarily or functionally distinct species are threatened with extinction

In the press release, Dr. Sidonie Pilot, lead research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, said: “This is slightly less than an extrapolation based solely on the Red List assessment, but is still very concerning given the many interactions between palms and other organisms. These interactions range from fungi to insects that live on it, to the mammals and birds that eat its fruit, to the many people who depend on palm products.”

All in all, the palm family is found in 227 regions and has been studied by scientists for decades, ensuring a wide range of knowledge about its genetic diversity and uses.

To better understand these risks, and their impact on palm diversity and the broader environment, as well as their impact on humans, the study authors believe there is still more work to be done.