Understanding the current state of trees within the United States is imperative for protecting those species, their habitats, and the countless communities they support, as well as the ecosystem services they provide. We present an updated checklist of all tree species native to the contiguous United States, their state distribution, extinction risk, and most common threats. Knowledge of national threat “hotspots” and conservation priorities facilitates efficient conservation efforts and the allocation of resources to safeguard the 11–16% of US tree species that are threatened. These results lay the groundwork for tree and ecosystem conservation efforts in the United States that contribute to achieving critical international conservation goals, including the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration and the Global Tree Assessment.
A Standardized Checklist of Us Native Tree Species and Threat Assessments to Prioritize and Coordinate Action
Plants, People, Planet
Citation
Carrero, C., Beckman Bruns, E., Frances, A., Jerome, D., Knapp, W., Meyer, A., Mims, R., Pivorunas, D., Speed, D., Treher Eberly, A., & Westwood, M. (2022). Data sharing for conservation: A standardized checklist of US native tree species and threat assessments to prioritize and coordinate action. Plants, People, Planet, 1– 17. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10305