Plants are going extinct up to 500 times faster than the historical average
Plants are going extinct up to 500 times faster than the historical average
Annie Kin
Posted on October 22, 2019
Biologically diverse hotspots are at the greatest risk for mass extinction, with Hawaii being the most dangerous place for plants.
We are living during the time that some ecologists are calling the sixth mass extinction.
Throughout the lifespan of the Earth, species have gone extinct at a very minimal rate called the background extinction rate.
After analyzing the populations of more than 330,000 seed-bearing plants around the world, a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution relays the horrific findings that about three plant species have gone extinct on Earth every year since 1900.
This is 500 times greater than the normal background rate.
Aside from the sheer quantity of species going extinct currently, there is one major difference with current extinctions and background extinction. Most of these current extinctions are the end result of reckless human activity, whereas background extinction is the natural ebb and flow of species in a slowly and constantly changing environment.
Mass extermination seems to be a more suited title for the human-driven catastrophe at hand.
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http://achnews.org/2019/10/22/plants-are-going-extinct-up-to-500-times-faster-than-the-historical-average/?fbclid=IwAR3ck-IJFN5hCdwyRE8Q0IIoq3Mz3iuXU12oEa-pPMGDz2i8VI10_a6wI1k