The number of tree species on Earth

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti; Peter B. Reich; Javier G.P. Gamarra; Tom Crowther; Cang Hui; Albert Morera; Jean Francois Bastin; Sergio de-Miguel; Gert Jan Nabuurs; Jens Christian Svenning; Josep M. Serra-Diaz; Cory Merow; Brian Enquist; Maria Kamenetsky; Junho Lee; Jun Zhu; Jinyun Fang; Douglass F. Jacobs; Bryan Pijanowski; Arindam Banerjee; Robert A. Giaquinto; Giorgio Alberti; Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano; Esteban Alvarez-Davila; Alejandro Araujo-Murakami; Valerio Avitabile; Gerardo A. Aymard; Radomir Balazy; Chris Baraloto; Jorcely G. Barroso; Meredith L. Bastian; Philippe Birnbaum; Robert Bitariho; Jan Bogaert; Frans Bongers; Olivier Bouriaud; Pedro H.S. Brancalion; Francis Q. Brearley; Eben North Broadbent; Filippo Bussotti; Wendeson Castro da Silva; Ricardo Gomes César; Goran Češljar; Víctor Chama Moscoso; Han Y.H. Chen; Emil Cienciala; Connie J. Clark; David A. Coomes; Selvadurai Dayanandan; Mathieu Decuyper; Laura E. Dee; Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel; Géraldine Derroire; Marie Noel Kamdem Djuikouo; Tran van Do; Jiri Dolezal; Ilija Đorđevic; Julien Engel; Tom M. Fayle; Ted R. Feldpausch; Jonas K. Fridman; David J. Harris; Andreas Hemp; Geerten Hengeveld; Bruno Herault; Martin Herold; Thomas Ibanez; Andrzej M. Jagodzinski; Bogdan Jaroszewicz; Kathryn J. Jeffery; Vivian Kvist Johannsen; Tommaso Jucker; Ahto Kangur; Victor N. Karminov; Kuswata Kartawinata; Deborah K. Kennard; Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas; Gunnar Keppel; Mohammed Latif Khan; Pramod Kumar Khare; Timothy J. Kileen; Hyun Seok Kim; Henn Korjus; Amit Kumar; Ashwani Kumar; Diana Laarmann; Nicolas Labrière; Mait Lang; Simon L. Lewis; Natalia Lukina; Brian S. Maitner; Yadvinder Malhi; Andrew R. Marshall; Olga V. Martynenko; Abel L. Monteagudo Mendoza; Petr V. Ontikov; Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi; Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho; Alain Paquette; Minjee Park; Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy; Pablo Luis Peri; Pascal Petronelli; Sebastian Pfautsch; Oliver L. Phillips; Nicolas Picard; Daniel Piotto; Lourens Poorter; John R. Poulsen; Hans Pretzsch; Hirma Ramírez-Angulo; Zorayda Restrepo Correa; Mirco Rodeghiero; Rocío Del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles; Samir G. Rolim; Francesco Rovero; Ervan Rutishauser; Purabi Saikia; Christian Salas-Eljatib; Dmitry Schepaschenko; Michael Scherer-Lorenzen; Vladimír Šebeň; Marcos Silveira; Ferry Slik; Bonaventure Sonké; Alexandre F. Souza; Krzysztof Jan Stereńczak; Miroslav Svoboda; Hermann Taedoumg; Nadja Tchebakova; John Terborgh; Elena Tikhonova; Armando Torres-Lezama; Fons van der Plas; Rodolfo Vásquez; Helder Viana; Alexander C. Vibrans; Emilio Vilanova; Vincent A. Vos; Hua Feng Wang; Bertil Westerlund; Lee J.T. White; Susan K. Wiser; Tomasz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki; Lise Zemagho; Zhi Xin Zhu; Irié C. Zo-Bi; Jingjing Liang

doi:10.1073/pnas.2115329119

The number of tree species on Earth

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Peter B. Reich, Javier G.P. Gamarra, Tom Crowther, Cang Hui, Albert Morera, Jean Francois Bastin, Sergio de-Miguel, Gert Jan Nabuurs, Jens Christian Svenning, Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Cory Merow, Brian Enquist, Maria Kamenetsky, Junho Lee, Jun Zhu, Jinyun Fang, Douglass F. Jacobs, Bryan Pijanowski, Arindam BanerjeeRobert A. Giaquinto, Giorgio Alberti, Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Valerio Avitabile, Gerardo A. Aymard, Radomir Balazy, Chris Baraloto, Jorcely G. Barroso, Meredith L. Bastian, Philippe Birnbaum, Robert Bitariho, Jan Bogaert, Frans Bongers, Olivier Bouriaud, Pedro H.S. Brancalion, Francis Q. Brearley, Eben North Broadbent, Filippo Bussotti, Wendeson Castro da Silva, Ricardo Gomes César, Goran Češljar, Víctor Chama Moscoso, Han Y.H. Chen, Emil Cienciala, Connie J. Clark, David A. Coomes, Selvadurai Dayanandan, Mathieu Decuyper, Laura E. Dee, Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel, Géraldine Derroire, Marie Noel Kamdem Djuikouo, Tran van Do, Jiri Dolezal, Ilija Đorđevic, Julien Engel, Tom M. Fayle, Ted R. Feldpausch, Jonas K. Fridman, David J. Harris, Andreas Hemp, Geerten Hengeveld, Bruno Herault, Martin Herold, Thomas Ibanez, Andrzej M. Jagodzinski, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Vivian Kvist Johannsen, Tommaso Jucker, Ahto Kangur, Victor N. Karminov, Kuswata Kartawinata, Deborah K. Kennard, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Gunnar Keppel, Mohammed Latif Khan, Pramod Kumar Khare, Timothy J. Kileen, Hyun Seok Kim, Henn Korjus, Amit Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Diana Laarmann, Nicolas Labrière, Mait Lang, Simon L. Lewis, Natalia Lukina, Brian S. Maitner, Yadvinder Malhi, Andrew R. Marshall, Olga V. Martynenko, Abel L. Monteagudo Mendoza, Petr V. Ontikov, Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Alain Paquette, Minjee Park, Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy, Pablo Luis Peri, Pascal Petronelli, Sebastian Pfautsch, Oliver L. Phillips, Nicolas Picard, Daniel Piotto, Lourens Poorter, John R. Poulsen, Hans Pretzsch, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Mirco Rodeghiero, Rocío Del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles, Samir G. Rolim, Francesco Rovero, Ervan Rutishauser, Purabi Saikia, Christian Salas-Eljatib, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Vladimír Šebeň, Marcos Silveira, Ferry Slik, Bonaventure Sonké, Alexandre F. Souza, Krzysztof Jan Stereńczak, Miroslav Svoboda, Hermann Taedoumg, Nadja Tchebakova, John Terborgh, Elena Tikhonova, Armando Torres-Lezama, Fons van der Plas, Rodolfo Vásquez, Helder Viana, Alexander C. Vibrans, Emilio Vilanova, Vincent A. Vos, Hua Feng Wang, Bertil Westerlund, Lee J.T. White, Susan K. Wiser, Tomasz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki, Lise Zemagho, Zhi Xin Zhu, Irié C. Zo-Bi, Jingjing Liang

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	e2115329119
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	119
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115329119
State	Published - Feb 8 2022

Keywords

Biodiversity
Forests
Hyperdominance
Rarity
Richness

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General

Access to Document

10.1073/pnas.2115329119

Cite this

Gatti, R. C., Reich, P. B., Gamarra, J. G. P., Crowther, T., Hui, C., Morera, A., Bastin, J. F., de-Miguel, S., Nabuurs, G. J., Svenning, J. C., Serra-Diaz, J. M., Merow, C., Enquist, B., Kamenetsky, M., Lee, J., Zhu, J., Fang, J., Jacobs, D. F., Pijanowski, B., ... Liang, J. (2022). The number of tree species on Earth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(6), [e2115329119]. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115329119

Gatti, RC, Reich, PB, Gamarra, JGP, Crowther, T, Hui, C, Morera, A, Bastin, JF, de-Miguel, S, Nabuurs, GJ, Svenning, JC, Serra-Diaz, JM, Merow, C, Enquist, B, Kamenetsky, M, Lee, J, Zhu, J, Fang, J, Jacobs, DF, Pijanowski, B, Banerjee, A, Giaquinto, RA, Alberti, G, Zambrano, AMA, Alvarez-Davila, E, Araujo-Murakami, A, Avitabile, V, Aymard, GA, Balazy, R, Baraloto, C, Barroso, JG, Bastian, ML, Birnbaum, P, Bitariho, R, Bogaert, J, Bongers, F, Bouriaud, O, Brancalion, PHS, Brearley, FQ, Broadbent, EN, Bussotti, F, da Silva, WC, César, RG, Češljar, G, Moscoso, VC, Chen, HYH, Cienciala, E, Clark, CJ, Coomes, DA, Dayanandan, S, Decuyper, M, Dee, LE, Del Aguila Pasquel, J, Derroire, G, Djuikouo, MNK, van Do, T, Dolezal, J, Đorđevic, I, Engel, J, Fayle, TM, Feldpausch, TR, Fridman, JK, Harris, DJ, Hemp, A, Hengeveld, G, Herault, B, Herold, M, Ibanez, T, Jagodzinski, AM, Jaroszewicz, B, Jeffery, KJ, Johannsen, VK, Jucker, T, Kangur, A, Karminov, VN, Kartawinata, K, Kennard, DK, Kepfer-Rojas, S, Keppel, G, Khan, ML, Khare, PK, Kileen, TJ, Kim, HS, Korjus, H, Kumar, A, Kumar, A, Laarmann, D, Labrière, N, Lang, M, Lewis, SL, Lukina, N, Maitner, BS, Malhi, Y, Marshall, AR, Martynenko, OV, Monteagudo Mendoza, AL, Ontikov, PV, Ortiz-Malavasi, E, Pallqui Camacho, NC, Paquette, A, Park, M, Parthasarathy, N, Peri, PL, Petronelli, P, Pfautsch, S, Phillips, OL, Picard, N, Piotto, D, Poorter, L, Poulsen, JR, Pretzsch, H, Ramírez-Angulo, H, Correa, ZR, Rodeghiero, M, Del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles, R, Rolim, SG, Rovero, F, Rutishauser, E, Saikia, P, Salas-Eljatib, C, Schepaschenko, D, Scherer-Lorenzen, M, Šebeň, V, Silveira, M, Slik, F, Sonké, B, Souza, AF, Stereńczak, KJ, Svoboda, M, Taedoumg, H, Tchebakova, N, Terborgh, J, Tikhonova, E, Torres-Lezama, A, van der Plas, F, Vásquez, R, Viana, H, Vibrans, AC, Vilanova, E, Vos, VA, Wang, HF, Westerlund, B, White, LJT, Wiser, SK, Zawiła-Niedźwiecki, T, Zemagho, L, Zhu, ZX, Zo-Bi, IC & Liang, J 2022, 'The number of tree species on Earth', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 119, no. 6, e2115329119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115329119

@article{d1304237c1c84075b9e778c19bbfbbaf,

title = "The number of tree species on Earth",

abstract = "One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness.",

keywords = "Biodiversity, Forests, Hyperdominance, Rarity, Richness",

author = "Gatti, {Roberto Cazzolla} and Reich, {Peter B.} and Gamarra, {Javier G.P.} and Tom Crowther and Cang Hui and Albert Morera and Bastin, {Jean Francois} and Sergio de-Miguel and Nabuurs, {Gert Jan} and Svenning, {Jens Christian} and Serra-Diaz, {Josep M.} and Cory Merow and Brian Enquist and Maria Kamenetsky and Junho Lee and Jun Zhu and Jinyun Fang and Jacobs, {Douglass F.} and Bryan Pijanowski and Arindam Banerjee and Giaquinto, {Robert A.} and Giorgio Alberti and Zambrano, {Angelica Maria Almeyda} and Esteban Alvarez-Davila and Alejandro Araujo-Murakami and Valerio Avitabile and Aymard, {Gerardo A.} and Radomir Balazy and Chris Baraloto and Barroso, {Jorcely G.} and Bastian, {Meredith L.} and Philippe Birnbaum and Robert Bitariho and Jan Bogaert and Frans Bongers and Olivier Bouriaud and Brancalion, {Pedro H.S.} and Brearley, {Francis Q.} and Broadbent, {Eben North} and Filippo Bussotti and {da Silva}, {Wendeson Castro} and C{\'e}sar, {Ricardo Gomes} and Goran {\v C}e{\v s}ljar and Moscoso, {V{\'i}ctor Chama} and Chen, {Han Y.H.} and Emil Cienciala and Clark, {Connie J.} and Coomes, {David A.} and Selvadurai Dayanandan and Mathieu Decuyper and Dee, {Laura E.} and {Del Aguila Pasquel}, Jhon and G{\'e}raldine Derroire and Djuikouo, {Marie Noel Kamdem} and {van Do}, Tran and Jiri Dolezal and Ilija {\D}or{\d}evic and Julien Engel and Fayle, {Tom M.} and Feldpausch, {Ted R.} and Fridman, {Jonas K.} and Harris, {David J.} and Andreas Hemp and Geerten Hengeveld and Bruno Herault and Martin Herold and Thomas Ibanez and Jagodzinski, {Andrzej M.} and Bogdan Jaroszewicz and Jeffery, {Kathryn J.} and Johannsen, {Vivian Kvist} and Tommaso Jucker and Ahto Kangur and Karminov, {Victor N.} and Kuswata Kartawinata and Kennard, {Deborah K.} and Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas and Gunnar Keppel and Khan, {Mohammed Latif} and Khare, {Pramod Kumar} and Kileen, {Timothy J.} and Kim, {Hyun Seok} and Henn Korjus and Amit Kumar and Ashwani Kumar and Diana Laarmann and Nicolas Labri{\`e}re and Mait Lang and Lewis, {Simon L.} and Natalia Lukina and Maitner, {Brian S.} and Yadvinder Malhi and Marshall, {Andrew R.} and Martynenko, {Olga V.} and {Monteagudo Mendoza}, {Abel L.} and Ontikov, {Petr V.} and Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi and {Pallqui Camacho}, {Nadir C.} and Alain Paquette and Minjee Park and Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy and Peri, {Pablo Luis} and Pascal Petronelli and Sebastian Pfautsch and Phillips, {Oliver L.} and Nicolas Picard and Daniel Piotto and Lourens Poorter and Poulsen, {John R.} and Hans Pretzsch and Hirma Ram{\'i}rez-Angulo and Correa, {Zorayda Restrepo} and Mirco Rodeghiero and {Del Pilar Rojas Gonz{\'a}les}, Roc{\'i}o and Rolim, {Samir G.} and Francesco Rovero and Ervan Rutishauser and Purabi Saikia and Christian Salas-Eljatib and Dmitry Schepaschenko and Michael Scherer-Lorenzen and Vladim{\'i}r {\v S}ebe{\v n} and Marcos Silveira and Ferry Slik and Bonaventure Sonk{\'e} and Souza, {Alexandre F.} and Stere{\'n}czak, {Krzysztof Jan} and Miroslav Svoboda and Hermann Taedoumg and Nadja Tchebakova and John Terborgh and Elena Tikhonova and Armando Torres-Lezama and {van der Plas}, Fons and Rodolfo V{\'a}squez and Helder Viana and Vibrans, {Alexander C.} and Emilio Vilanova and Vos, {Vincent A.} and Wang, {Hua Feng} and Bertil Westerlund and White, {Lee J.T.} and Wiser, {Susan K.} and Tomasz Zawi{\l}a-Nied{\'z}wiecki and Lise Zemagho and Zhu, {Zhi Xin} and Zo-Bi, {Iri{\'e} C.} and Jingjing Liang",

year = "2022",

month = feb,

day = "8",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.2115329119",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "119",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",

number = "6",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - The number of tree species on Earth

AU - Gatti, Roberto Cazzolla

AU - Reich, Peter B.

AU - Gamarra, Javier G.P.

AU - Crowther, Tom

AU - Hui, Cang

AU - Morera, Albert

AU - Bastin, Jean Francois

AU - de-Miguel, Sergio

AU - Nabuurs, Gert Jan

AU - Svenning, Jens Christian

AU - Serra-Diaz, Josep M.

AU - Merow, Cory

AU - Enquist, Brian

AU - Kamenetsky, Maria

AU - Lee, Junho

AU - Zhu, Jun

AU - Fang, Jinyun

AU - Jacobs, Douglass F.

AU - Pijanowski, Bryan

AU - Banerjee, Arindam

AU - Giaquinto, Robert A.

AU - Alberti, Giorgio

AU - Zambrano, Angelica Maria Almeyda

AU - Alvarez-Davila, Esteban

AU - Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro

AU - Avitabile, Valerio

AU - Aymard, Gerardo A.

AU - Balazy, Radomir

AU - Baraloto, Chris

AU - Barroso, Jorcely G.

AU - Bastian, Meredith L.

AU - Birnbaum, Philippe

AU - Bitariho, Robert

AU - Bogaert, Jan

AU - Bongers, Frans

AU - Bouriaud, Olivier

AU - Brancalion, Pedro H.S.

AU - Brearley, Francis Q.

AU - Broadbent, Eben North

AU - Bussotti, Filippo

AU - da Silva, Wendeson Castro

AU - César, Ricardo Gomes

AU - Češljar, Goran

AU - Moscoso, Víctor Chama

AU - Chen, Han Y.H.

AU - Cienciala, Emil

AU - Clark, Connie J.

AU - Coomes, David A.

AU - Dayanandan, Selvadurai

AU - Decuyper, Mathieu

AU - Dee, Laura E.

AU - Del Aguila Pasquel, Jhon

AU - Derroire, Géraldine

AU - Djuikouo, Marie Noel Kamdem

AU - van Do, Tran

AU - Dolezal, Jiri

AU - Đorđevic, Ilija

AU - Engel, Julien

AU - Fayle, Tom M.

AU - Feldpausch, Ted R.

AU - Fridman, Jonas K.

AU - Harris, David J.

AU - Hemp, Andreas

AU - Hengeveld, Geerten

AU - Herault, Bruno

AU - Herold, Martin

AU - Ibanez, Thomas

AU - Jagodzinski, Andrzej M.

AU - Jaroszewicz, Bogdan

AU - Jeffery, Kathryn J.

AU - Johannsen, Vivian Kvist

AU - Jucker, Tommaso

AU - Kangur, Ahto

AU - Karminov, Victor N.

AU - Kartawinata, Kuswata

AU - Kennard, Deborah K.

AU - Kepfer-Rojas, Sebastian

AU - Keppel, Gunnar

AU - Khan, Mohammed Latif

AU - Khare, Pramod Kumar

AU - Kileen, Timothy J.

AU - Kim, Hyun Seok

AU - Korjus, Henn

AU - Kumar, Amit

AU - Kumar, Ashwani

AU - Laarmann, Diana

AU - Labrière, Nicolas

AU - Lang, Mait

AU - Lewis, Simon L.

AU - Lukina, Natalia

AU - Maitner, Brian S.

AU - Malhi, Yadvinder

AU - Marshall, Andrew R.

AU - Martynenko, Olga V.

AU - Monteagudo Mendoza, Abel L.

AU - Ontikov, Petr V.

AU - Ortiz-Malavasi, Edgar

AU - Pallqui Camacho, Nadir C.

AU - Paquette, Alain

AU - Park, Minjee

AU - Parthasarathy, Narayanaswamy

AU - Peri, Pablo Luis

AU - Petronelli, Pascal

AU - Pfautsch, Sebastian

AU - Phillips, Oliver L.

AU - Picard, Nicolas

AU - Piotto, Daniel

AU - Poorter, Lourens

AU - Poulsen, John R.

AU - Pretzsch, Hans

AU - Ramírez-Angulo, Hirma

AU - Correa, Zorayda Restrepo

AU - Rodeghiero, Mirco

AU - Del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles, Rocío

AU - Rolim, Samir G.

AU - Rovero, Francesco

AU - Rutishauser, Ervan

AU - Saikia, Purabi

AU - Salas-Eljatib, Christian

AU - Schepaschenko, Dmitry

AU - Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael

AU - Šebeň, Vladimír

AU - Silveira, Marcos

AU - Slik, Ferry

AU - Sonké, Bonaventure

AU - Souza, Alexandre F.

AU - Stereńczak, Krzysztof Jan

AU - Svoboda, Miroslav

AU - Taedoumg, Hermann

AU - Tchebakova, Nadja

AU - Terborgh, John

AU - Tikhonova, Elena

AU - Torres-Lezama, Armando

AU - van der Plas, Fons

AU - Vásquez, Rodolfo

AU - Viana, Helder

AU - Vibrans, Alexander C.

AU - Vilanova, Emilio

AU - Vos, Vincent A.

AU - Wang, Hua Feng

AU - Westerlund, Bertil

AU - White, Lee J.T.

AU - Wiser, Susan K.

AU - Zawiła-Niedźwiecki, Tomasz

AU - Zemagho, Lise

AU - Zhu, Zhi Xin

AU - Zo-Bi, Irié C.

AU - Liang, Jingjing

PY - 2022/2/8

Y1 - 2022/2/8

N2 - One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness.

AB - One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness.

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Forests

KW - Hyperdominance

KW - Rarity

KW - Richness

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123974036&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85123974036&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2115329119

DO - 10.1073/pnas.2115329119

M3 - Article

C2 - 35101981

AN - SCOPUS:85123974036

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 119

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 6

M1 - e2115329119

ER -

The number of tree species on Earth

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