Cactus-strophic extinction ahead
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NATURE PLANTS
Embargo
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London: Monday 05 October 2015 16:00 (BST)
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New York: Monday 05 October 2015 11:00 (EDT)
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Tokyo: Tuesday 06 October 2015 00:00 (JST)
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Sydney: Tuesday 06 October 2015 02:00 (AEDT)
Cacti are among the most threatened groups of plants assessed to date, with over 30% of
species at risk of extinction, according to a study published online in Nature Plants.
The likelihood of extinction among plant species remains poorly understood, with only 19,374 of
an estimated 300,000 species having been evaluated. Cacti are a culturally significant group,
distributed primarily in the arid environments of the Americas, with a long history of human use
for ornamental horticulture, food and medicine. Despite the pressures these regions face, they
have not attracted the conservation attention associated with other environments, such as
tropical forests.
Barbara Goettsch and colleagues determined the risk of extinction of 1,478 of the 1,480 species
of extant cacti. They find that cacti are the fifth most threatened taxonomic group of
plants assessed to date. The greatest numbers of threatened species are found in southern Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil, and in northern Artigas, Uruguay. The most significant threats facing cacti
are the appropriation of land for agriculture and aquaculture, the collection of cacti as biological
resources, and residential and commercial development.
The authors suggest that their study demonstrates that global species assessments can be
undertaken for major plant taxa (groups) with relatively moderate resources.
Article and author details
1. High proportion of cactus species threatened with extinction
Corresponding Authors
Bárbara Goettsch
Castle Park, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Email: barbara.goettsch@iucn.org, Tel: +44 1223 814 693
Kevin Gaston
University of Exeter, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Email: k.j.gaston@exeter.ac.uk
DOI
10.1038/nplants.2015.142
Online paper*
http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nplants.2015.142
* Please link to the article in online versions of your report (the URL will go live after the embargo ends).
Geographical listings of authors
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Argentina
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, Brazil
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, Chile
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, Cuba
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, Ecuador
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, Germany
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, Guatemala
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, Mexico
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, Paraguay
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, Peru
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, Singapore
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, Switzerland
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, United Arab Emirates
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, United Kingdom
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, United States
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, Uruguay
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& Venezuela