An Australian rainforest frog last seen in 1990 has been listed as extinct on an updated global list of imperilled species, alongside 23 more native orchids at risk .
CSIRO Identifies Plants Most at Risk After Black Summer Megafires
Australia’s 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires severely impacted hundreds of plant species.
Post-fire recovery of wet sclerophyll forest on the southern coastal ranges of NSW. In this location fire mainly affected the understory and tree ferns were among the first species to reshoot. Image Credit: Robert Godfree
While the prospects of recovery for most appear to be good, some species remain vulnerable, according to research published by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research.
The researchers compared remotely sensed satellite fire hotspot data with records of plant occurrence from herbarium collections to discover the plant species and ecosystems impacted in the burnt areas.