Assessment of threaten status on the Wild Plants Under State Protection in China

Abstract

Endangered species threaten status assessment is an important basis for determining protec- tion priorities and establishing conservation strategies, and it has become a key step in biodiversity con- servation. We used IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria to assess threaten status of the Wild Plants Under State Protection in China. The results indicated that 2 of these species were assessed as Extinct (EX), 3 species as Extinct in Wild (EW), 310 species as Critically Endangered (CR), 638 species as Endangered (EN), 911 species as Vulnerable (VU), 117 species as Near Threatened (NT), 162 species as Least Concern (LC), and 34 species as Data Deficient (DD). Our assessment highlighted discrepan- cies between IUCN categories and the corresponding protection categories used in the List of Wild Plants Under State Protection, thus indicating that threaten status might not be the sole criterion as- sessed when determining and assigning protection categories. Our study provides a scientific reference for the establishment of a threaten status hierarchy and the protection of endangered plants.