Perhaps the most devastating effect of deforestation is the immense diversity of plant and animal life that is lost in the process. This effect is even further compounded when we talk about the tropical rainforest deforestation that has steadily become more and more commonplace over the past few and has directly led to the extinction of numerous species of life.

The true shame in all of this is the simple fact that scientists had not even discovered many of these now extinct plants and animals and therefore, we will never know the numerous beneficial effects they once offered our planet.

Although the aforementioned deforestation is one of the leading causes of extinction of plants and animals around the world, it is by no means the only one. In fact, human behavior has negatively impacted numerous species of plants (largely unintentionally) since the beginning of our history.  In the New York region, for example, numerous plants such as the Nantucket shadbush, the coastal violet, and the hairy angelica all currently face extinction directly because of human interference of their natural growth patterns.

For the past 20 years, therefore, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has been mapping species of plants in every county within a 50-mile radius of New York City to assess the current threat level to specific plants and then, implement a plan of action for their revival.

Undoubtedly, this was a long and arduous process for all of those involved but their efforts were made worthwhile just a few weeks ago when the project finally came to an end. One of the leading causes of the near-extinction of many of the species in this region was discovered to be the introduction of foreign varieties of plants that ultimately led to the detriment of native ones.

“Plants from other parts of the world are now quite abundant, but there are many others that have been lost due to urbanization,” said Gerry Moore, the botanical garden’s science director. The main goal of this large scale mapping, then, was to order the plants in a list from most threatened to least threatened and then promote the planting of the former with the hope of leading to the eventual revival of these increasingly rare plants in the New York area. As you may have guessed, this is an extremely exciting time for the researchers of this project as they will finally be able to witness the many fruits of their countless years of labor.

Discussion Question: In addition to the introduction of foreign varieties of plants, what other human behavior do you think has led to the near extinction of many species of plants in this region?

News Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/nyregion/03flora.html
Scientific Article: http://www.bbg.org/