Wild maple trees 'in serious need of conservation'

According to the first full assessment of extinction risks, One in five maple species is threatened in the wild.

Known for the vivid color of their autumn leaves, the trees are popular in parks and gardens. But in their natural habitats, they face a myriad of threats, including unsustainable logging, climate change, deforestation, and forest fires.

Botanists are calling for urgent action to protect rare maple trees. And they say seeds should be stored as an insurance policy against extinction.

The assessment of all 158 species of maple is part of an effort to map the conservation status of all tree species by the end of 2020. It was carried out by the group, Botanic Gardens Conservation International.

Conservation manager Dan Crowley told to sources that, "Maples are some of our most familiar trees, particularly in autumn when they give us those wonderful displays of yellow, orange, red and purple colors.

"And whilst they are common in some of our open spaces, spaces where they are highly valued, several species are also highly threatened in the wild."

What we see in gardens and parks is just a small selection of the vast number found in the wild. And many of the specimens seen in urban spaces are grown from a small number of seeds collected by early plant hunters, with only limited genetic diversity.

Currently, 14 species of maple trees, including four that are critically endangered, are missing from arboretums and botanical gardens.

Dan Crowley added, "We're highly responsible for the threats that some of these species face including urban development, agriculture, and timber harvesting and we have the capabilities to conserve the species in the wild and also in our living collections, and we should act to do. "

China holds the highest diversity of maple trees, with a total of 92 species. But threatened species also occur in other parts of Asia and the Americas.

The North American sugar maple is famous for giving us maple syrup, a favourite pancake topping for many.

Talk on the study, Kathy Willis, professor of biodiversity at the University of Oxford, said, "These trees provide a number of important ecosystem services and their loss are not just a loss of a pretty iconic tree but also all the important benefits they provide to humans maple syrup being but one of them."