The researchers revealed, that the total species of trees on Earth reached 73,300 species. A total of 9,200 of them are still unaccounted for to date.
While an estimated 64,100 species are known, by an international statistical group. Where the data used are based on extensive global soil sources.
This discovery is not an easy activity. Because 150 scientists around the world have to identify, from a total of nearly 40 million trees on Earth to create a comprehensive database, quoted us from iflscience, Wednesday (2/2/2022).
It is known that a third of the undiscovered, is a rare category. This is one of the first estimates of the number of tree species at a global level.
"A broad knowledge of the richness and diversity of trees is key to maintaining ecosystem stability and function," explains Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, author and a professor in the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bologna.
Gatti said that to this day, their data on areas on Earth are still very limited. Therefore, based on field observations, the species list in each area is different. This becomes an obstacle and a problem.
The researchers also obtained the initial results, through a super complex statistical analysis. They used Artificial Intelligence and advanced computers at Purdue University's Forest Advanced Computing and Artificial Intelligence (FACAI) in Indiana.
After the calculations ended, it was estimated that the planet had about 73,300 tree species. This is 14% more than is known.
According to them, of the 9,200 species that are still a mystery, as many as 40% are likely to be in the United States. Then about 3,000 are rare species.
"These results highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity, to anthropogenic changes. Especially land use and climate. Because the survival of rare taxa, is disproportionately threatened by these stresses," Peter B Reich, professor at the University of Minnesota.