Machine learning could improve plant conservation efforts

A new paper published on 3 December in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims that a large number of currently unassessed plant species are likely at risk (1). The researchers also identified several geographic regions with the highest need for conservation efforts. Moreover, several of these regions are not currently recognized as areas of global concern. According to the authors, 10 per cent of plant species should be categorised as "at risk" on the Red List of Threatened Species, a comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This equates to nearly 15,000 additional species.