Resumo:
Species extinction risk assessments are key indicators of the current biodiversity crisis. Making them more comprehensive and agile is essential for better understanding and responding to this challenge. Habitat destruction, primarily driven by agricultural expansion, is the main driver of this crisis. In this study, we assessed the extinction risk of 23,482 native plant species in Brazil, using extent of occurrence (EOO), area of occupancy (AOO), and their changes over time, based on natural vegetation cover data from 1985 to 2021. We found that 8,108 species (34.58%) are threatened: 5,442 based on EOO and 2,596 on AOO, with 230 classified as critically endangered. Changes in AOO indicated risk for 3,197 species, while natural vegetation recovery contributed to habitat gains for 1,983 species. Our results demonstrate that new risk assessment methodologies, combined with high-quality data, can can demonstrate good performance in identifying threatened species. This study can aid conservation scientists and practitioners in better understanding the impacts of habitat destruction on species and in establishing priorities for more effective conservation actions to mitigate the crisis.
