Nationwide revisitation reveals thousands of local extinctions across the ranges of 713 threatened and rare plant species

Abstract

Despite increasing awareness of global biodiversity loss, we lack quantitative data on local extinctions for many species. This is especially true for rare species, which are typically assessed on the basis of expert judgment rather than data. Revisiting previously assessed populations enables estimation of local extinction rates and the identification of species characteristics and habitats with high local extinction risk. Between 2010 and 2016, in a nationwide revisitation study, 420 volunteer botanists revisited 8,024 populations of the 713 rarest and most threatened plant species in Switzerland recorded between 1960 and 2001. Of the revisited 8,024 populations, 27% had gone locally extinct. Among critically endangered species, the local extinctions increased to 40%. Species from ruderal and freshwater habitat types showed the highest proportion of local extinctions. Our results provide compelling evidence for rapid and widespread local extinctions and suggest that current conservation measures are insufficient. Local extinctions precede and provide early warnings for global extinctions. The ongoing loss of populations suggests that we will lose species diversity unless we scale up species-targeted conservation and restoration measures, especially in anthropogenic landscapes.