Researchers warn of mass extinction of species
Almost half of all known flowering plants are at risk of extinction, and among those plants that scientist have not yet discovered or classified, the risk is estimated to be even greater. This gloomy news is reported in this year’s report from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to which researchers from the University of Gothenburg contributed.
The report describes the current state of the world’s plants and fungi.
– The report is based on groundbreaking original research and coherent studies from many research teams,” says Alexandre Antonelli, Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London and Professor of Systematics and Biodiversity at the University of Gothenburg.
– At a time when plants and fungi are increasingly under threat, we must act quickly to plug knowledge gaps and prioritise wisely for their preservation. A range of tools, techniques and approaches such as the study of genetics and machine learning will help us tospeed up this work.
The report State of the World's Plants and Fungi 2023: www.kew.org/sotwpf
Contact: Alexandre Antonelli ,head of research at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in London and professor at the University of Gothenburg. Phone: +(44) 7384 877 664, e-mail: a.antonelli@kew.org
Daniele Silvestro, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.
Phone: +(44) 76-490 99 31, e-mail: daniele.silvestro@bioenv.gu.se