Rethinking extinction risk?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 - 17:00
in Biology & Nature
For more than 40 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has published the Red List of Threatened Species describing the conservation status of various species of animals. They are now also including plants in their lists and the picture they present is dramatic. According to recent estimates, around 20 per cent of flowering plants are currently at risk of extinction though the exact number is unknown since such a small proportion of plant species has even been measured.