More than half of the tree species that only grow in Europe are at risk of going extinct, according to a study published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Friday. Trees are under pressure from invasive pests and plants, excessive logging, and urban development, according to the Swiss-based organisation that keeps the global Red List of threatened species.
The IUCN looked at 454 tree species that grow in Europe. Among the 265 that do not exist on any other continent, 58 per cent face a high, very high or extreme extinction risk. The head of the IUCN’s Red List unit, Craig Hilton-Taylor, said that the European Union and conservationists should be alarmed.
“Trees are essential for life on earth, and European trees in all their diversity are a source of food and shelter for countless animal species such as birds and squirrels, and play a key economic role,” he said in a statement.
Among the threatened species are the horse chestnut, the mountain as hand the Crimean rowan.
The horse chestnut is being damaged by the leaf-miner moth, which has spread from Balkan mountains to the rest of Europe. Logging, forest fires and tourism add to the pressure, the IUCN said. — dpa
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