A Third Of Global Tree Species Threatened With Extinction: Report

Land clearance for farming -- both crops and livestock -- and logging are by far the biggest threats to trees, the State of the World's Trees report said, adding that climate change was also "having a clearly measurable impact".

Around a third of all the world's tree species are threatened with extinction, according to a global index published Wednesday, warning that climate change could tip some forests into ecosystem collapse. Land clearance for farming -- both crops and livestock -- and logging are by far the biggest threats to trees, the State of the World's Trees report said, adding that climate change was also "having a clearly measurable impact". The study looked at the risks to 58,497 tree species worldwide and found that 30 percent (17,500) are threatened with extinction, with a further seven percent listed as "possibly threatened". For 21 percent of species there was not enough data for an evaluation, and just over 40 percent were listed as "not threatened".