Study: Botanical 'Dark Spots' Hide More Than 100,000 New Species

Experts have worked in recent years to find global hotspots where plants and animals are at risk of extinction. But a new study suggests they’ve been focusing on already well-known regions. That has created botanical “dark spots.” Those are the places where thousands of species have gone undetected. Many of them may even be endangered. 

“We are protecting 30% of the planet by this decade under current (United Nations) targets," Alexandre Antonelli of the UK’s Kew Royal Botanic Gardens told The Guardian. "But we don’t know which areas to protect unless we have the right information.” 

Antonelli is a co-author of the study. It was published in the journal New Phytologist. In it, he urged experts to focus on the “dark spots.” He wants to find them before unknown species there are wiped out.  

“We’ve gone back to the same places over and over again," Antonelli explained. By doing that, he says, "we’ve neglected some areas that may contain lots of species.”  

The study highlights a few regions. The island of Sumatra is one of them. The eastern Himalayan mountains is another region. And the study also names parts of Madagascar and the jungles of southeastern Brazil. The research team believes these areas could contain more than 100,000 unidentified plants. Some of those could be used for medicine. Some might act as keystone species. That's a species that plays a major role in the health of an ecosystem. By finding them, the team hopes global leaders will be more likely to protect the “dark spots.” That could buy experts time to explore them and bring them into the light. 

Reflect: Why do you think it’s important to learn about and protect different plants and animals in our world?

Gif of forest scene from GIPHY.