Atlantic Forest has the highest number of threatened species, says research

The survey is based on the fauna lists – prepared by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) – and flora, produced by the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden (JBRJ), both published last year. 

According to the study, the two institutions evaluated 21.456 species of animals and plants in all biomes in the country, that is, around 12% of all Brazilian biodiversity. From there, technicians classified the species in a threatened situation, which can be, in ascending order of concern: vulnerable (VU), endangered (EM) and critically endangered (CR). 

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Those considered “with insufficient data (DD)”, “least concern (LC)” and “near threatened (NT)” are not threatened. The NT category is the last step before the species enters the VU classification: vulnerable.

Assessment

A Atlantic forest it was the biome with the highest number of species evaluated: 11.811. And it is also the area with the highest total of threatened species: 2.845, that is, almost a quarter (24,1%). According to IBGE, 43% of threatened species live in the Atlantic Forest. It is also the biome with the most species declared extinct: eight, according to IBGE, the most recent being the bell gladiator frog (Boana cymbalum). 

Leonardo Bergamini, a researcher at IBGE, explains that “this is related to characteristics intrinsic to the biome itself, with many endemic species, species with restricted distribution, but there is also a factor which is the history of occupation of the Atlantic Forest, the biome with the longest history of occupation and greater loss of native area. And there is a third factor: most institutions and research centers are located in this biome, so there is greater availability of information about its biodiversity, which allows us to better assess the risk of extinction of species”.

Then the Cerrado which, with 7.385 species assessed, had 1.199 considered at risk (16,2% of the total). Other biomes with more than 10% of wildlife threatened among those species assessed are caatinga (3.220 or 14,9%) and the pampas (229 or 13,7%). 

The biomes with the lowest number of threatened species among those evaluated are Amazon (503 or 6%) and the Pantanal (1.825 or 4,1%). 

Species evaluated 

IBGE also reported that the total number of species evaluated in 2022 increased in relation to the list drawn up in 2014. Plants increased from 9% of the total (4.304) to 15% (7.517), while animals increased from 10% (12.009) to 11% (13.939). 

Threatened species have declined in both flora and fauna. Plant species at risk of extinction went from 47,4% in 2014 to 42,7% in 2022. Threatened animals fell from 9,8% to 9% in the period. 

The drop, according to IBGE, can be explained by the increase in the number of species evaluated. 

Environments 

In relation to environments, most of the species analyzed for both fauna and flora are from terrestrial environments, going from 65% in 2014 to 70% in 2022. Freshwater species increased from 39% to 37% and those from marine, from 16% to 15%.

(With Brazil Agency)

Read also

What is the Atlantic Forest?

The Atlantic Forest is a biome that covers around 15% of the Brazilian territory, extending along the country's Atlantic coast. This biome is characterized by its great diversity of fauna and flora species, being considered one of the richest in biodiversity in the world. However, the Atlantic Forest is also one of the most threatened biomes on the planet, with less than 10% of its original coverage still preserved.

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