New Scientist - USA (2019-06-15)

15 June 2019 | New Scientist | 5

OUR onslaught on the natural

world has caused an average of

more than two plant species to

vanish from the planet every year

since the middle of the 18th

century. That is according to the

first comprehensive attempt to

chart such extinctions worldwide.

The best guess had been that

fewer than 150 species had gone

extinct, but this was based on

the International Union for

Conservation of Nature’s Red List

of Threatened Species, which

doesn’t cover all plants. The true

number seems to be nearly four

times higher, at 571 species lost

between 1753 and 2018.

Researchers came up with this

figure after analysing a previously

unpublished database kept by the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in

the UK. Species destroyed include

the Chile sandalwood (Santalum

fernandezianum), which was only

found on one group of Pacific

islands, and the St Helena olive

tree (Nesiota elliptica), which only

lived on the Atlantic island it is

named after (Nature Ecology and

Evolution, doi.org/gf3szp).

The rate of loss is happening as

much as 500 times faster than the

background rate of extinction for

plants, the speed at which they are

lost without humanity’s impact.

But even the grim toll of 571 is

likely to be lower than the reality,

says Aelys Humphreys of Kew.

That is because some biodiverse

parts of the world aren’t very

well studied, and some plants

have been reduced to such low

numbers that they are considered

“functionally extinct”.

The number of plants killed

off is greater than the combined

figure for mammals, amphibians

and birds. That is what researchers

would expect, given there are

many more plant species overall.

However, the geography of the

extinctions in plants and animals

is strikingly similar. Island species

are inherently vulnerable and

have been particularly badly hit,

as have species living in regions

with a tropical or Mediterranean

climate. Hawaii has seen more

losses than anywhere else in the

world, with 79 extinctions. Other

hotspots include Brazil, Australia

and Madagascar (pictured). ❚

Nearly 600 species have gone extinct over the past 250 years

as a result of human activity, reports Adam Vaughan

Space

NASA is opening up

the ISS for business

ASTRONAUTS from private

companies will be able to

use the International Space

Station for activities beyond

research and development,

NASA has announced.

This means private firms

will be able to manufacture

products and even do

marketing on the ISS.

There are already more

than 50 firms with

research on the ISS, but

NASA is now loosening

restrictions on what

activities will be allowed.

“Approved activities

must have a connection

to the NASA mission, will

stimulate the low-Earth-

orbit economy, or need

the unique environment

of microgravity,” NASA’s

Robyn Gatens said at a

press conference on 7 July.

NASA will also allow a

private module to be added

to the station, creating a

“commercial destination” in

anticipation of independent

commercial space stations.

Additionally, private

astronauts will be allowed to

visit the station for missions

of up to 30 days, with trips

up to twice a year starting in

2020, said Gatens. They will

have to undergo rigorous

astronaut training and pass

NASA’s medical tests.

NASA astronauts will

still perform all the external

repairs of the ISS and private

astronauts won’t be allowed

to do spacewalks. ❚

Wiping out Earth’s plants

News

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