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A recent study led by BGCI has shown that nearly a third of all maple species are under threat of extinction in their native habitats. Of the 191 maple species assessed, 54 are considered at risk today, and a further 29 species are likely to become threatened in the near future.
As well as listing the conservation status of all known maple species, The Red List of Maples also provides for the first time, maps of the distribution of the threatened species, many of which are native to China.
"Urgent action is required to conserve the most threatened species, in particular the seven species that we know are reduced to just a handful of individual trees in the wild" said Sara Oldfield, Secretary General of BGCI and Chair of the Global Trees Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
"The good news is that while many species are threatened in the wild, some of these species are common in cultivation. We are now aiming to use the knowledge, expertise and resources of gardens and arboreta that have collections of maples, such as the National Arboretum at Westonbirt, to address conservation problems on the ground."
The Red List of Maples has been produced by BGCI in the framework of the Global Trees Campaign – a joint initiative between BGCI and Fauna & Flora International (FFI). The Global Trees Campaign has been adopted by Rotary International Britain and Ireland (RIBI) as a cause it will support for the coming year.
