First 1,000 fungi on IUCN Red List reveal growing threats – IUCN Red List

The number of fungi species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ has surpassed 1,000, confirming that deforestation, agricultural expansion and urban development are driving these species to decline worldwide. Today’s update also reveals that frankincense trees face an increasing risk of extinction, and new Green Status assessments show the impact of conservation on species including the lion.

Header photo: Hygrocybe intermedia © Michael Krikorev

The IUCN Red List now includes 169,420 species, of which 47,187 are threatened with extinction. The addition of 482 newly assessed fungi species brings their number on the IUCN Red List to 1,300, of which at least 411 are at risk of extinction.

“Fungi are the unsung heroes of life on Earth, forming the very foundation of healthy ecosystems – yet they have long been overlooked. Thanks to the dedication of experts and citizen scientists, we have taken a vital step forward: over 1,000 of the world’s 155,000 known fungal species have now been assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the most comprehensive source of information on extinction risk. Now, it’s time to turn this knowledge into action and safeguard the extraordinary fungal kingdom, whose vast underground networks sustain nature and life as we know it,” said Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General.

Rapid growth of agricultural and urban areas has replaced fungi habitats, putting 279 species at risk of extinction. Nitrogen and ammonia run-off from fertilizers and engine pollution also threaten 91 species. These are serious threats in Europe, impacting species that are well-known in traditional countryside such as the Vulnerable fibrous waxcap (Hygrocybe intermedia).

At least 198 species of fungi are at risk of extinction due to deforestation for timber production, illegal logging, and clearing for agriculture. Clear-cutting of old-growth forests is especially damaging, destroying fungi that do not have time to re-establish with rotation forestry. Thirty per cent of old-growth pine forests across Finland, Sweden and Russia have been cut down since 1975, pushing species such as giant knight (Tricholoma colossus) to become Vulnerable.  

Climate change is impacting fungi. Over 50 fungi species are at risk of extinction due to changes in fire patterns in the USA, which have drastically changed forests. Firs have grown to dominate the high Sierra Nevada mountain woods since 1980, reducing habitat for Endangered Gastroboletus citrinobrunneus.

“While fungi mainly live hidden underground and inside wood, their loss impacts the life above-ground that depends on them. As we lose fungi, we impoverish the ecosystem services and resilience they provide, from drought and pathogen resistance in crops and trees to storing carbon in the soil,” said Professor Anders Dahlberg, Red List Authority Coordinator of the IUCN SSC Mushroom, Bracket and Puffball Specialist Group. “It is important that more old-growth forests are protected. Forestry practices should consider fungi, for example leaving dead wood and scattered trees, and proactive forest management can help manage fire intensity.”

Fungi constitute their own kingdom, distinct from animals and plants. They are the second biggest kingdom after animals, with an estimated 2.5 million species, of which around 155,000 are named. They underpin all ecosystems; most plants partner with fungi to take in nutrients, and therefore cannot exist without them, and they make decomposition possible. Many are edible, used in food and drink production including fermentation, form the basis of medicines, and support bioremediation efforts to clean contaminated sites.

Local action holds solutions as frankincense trees move closer to extinction

Today’s update reveals that six species of frankincense (Boswellia) on Socotra Island, Yemen, have moved from Vulnerable to Endangered and three species have been assessed for the first time as Critically Endangered. Saplings are grazed on by goats, and struggle to flourish in prolonged droughts. While goats have been part of Socotra’s herder tradition for thousands of years, the decline of traditional rotational grazing and the growing size of herds in the past century have increased foraging pressure. More frequent and intense cyclones, flash floods and landslides, such as those seen in 2015 and 2018, have damaged and uprooted many trees.

One of the most valuable commodities of the ancient world, today the use of frankincense is well-managed on Socotra. Indigenous people use the resin and bark, for example in traditional medicine and religious practices. It is essential that the use of Socotra’s frankincense remains local and proportionate to the rarity of the trees.

Green Status shows lion needs intensified conservation

There are now over 100 IUCN Green Status of Species assessments on the IUCN Red List. The Green Status complements the IUCN Red List by providing a tool for assessing the recovery of species and measuring their conservation success. The first Green Status assessment for the lion (Panthera leo) shows that it is Largely Depleted, while the species remains Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Today’s Green Status assessment shows that human impacts are preventing the lion from being fully ecologically functional across its range, as the species declines across large areas and is extinct from North Africa and Southwest Asia. However, the assessment also shows that conservation has prevented likely extinctions from West and Southern Central Africa, South Africa and India. Intensified efforts are needed to maintain the existing population as human settlements across its range continue to grow.