Plants Are Going Extinct 350 Times Faster Than Normal, But We Just Don't Seem To Care

It is a fact that species on Earth are getting extinct sooner than ever and these don't just include mammals, fish or birds, but also plants.

According to a recent report issued by the United Nations, 571 plant species have gone extinct, with over a million species on the brink of extinction. But this isn't the worst news yet.

Reuters

According to another study published in Current Biology, these plant species are going extinct 350 times faster than the average time, historically.

Now if you were to ask how many species are in fact getting extinct, the answer to that question isn't going to be that simple. Plants are not scattered evenly across the planet. For example, Madagascar is home to over 12,000 species out of which 80 percent of species of plants that are indigenous to that region and can only thrive there.

With acts like urbanisation and deforestation, those plants are going extinct at a considerable pace. Now look at England, where it has around 1859 plants, and the number of indigenous plants that exists there is just 4 percent.

What's weirder is that both these categories have a different kind of importance, when looking through the perspective of biodiversity. For starters, in Madagascar, deforestation and other acts cause many species to go extinct at the same time. However in England, even if the number is smaller, the plants getting extinct are more unique and authentic.

According to the UN report, many of these terrible consequences can be prevented by changing the way we grow food, produce energy, deal with climate change and waste management.

Reuters

By urbanising turning forests, grasslands and other green spot areas, we're witnessing a considerable habitat loss that leaves plants and animals homeless. Around three-fourths of Earth's land, two-thirds of its oceans and 85% of crucial wetlands have been severely altered or lost, making it harder for species to survive.

Another cause is overfishing in the world's oceans, that's not giving fishes enough time to reproduce and for their species to thrive.

Burning of fossil fuels is altering the physiology of the climate that's making it harder for some species to survive. Global warming has already affected half of the world's land mammals and almost a quarter of the birds.

It's high time we took these indicators seriously to save our Blue Planet, because we have just the one. If it doesn't survive, we won't either.