The Amazon has one of the world's most diverse collections of tree species, but findings of a new study have revealed that more than half of this may be at risk of extinction due to deforestation.

In a new study published in the journal Science Advances on Nov. 20, a team of 158 international researchers compared the data taken from Amazon forest surveys with maps of deforestation.

Researchers found that if the trend in deforestation continues, between 36 and 57 percent of the estimated 15,000 Amazonian tree species could be threatened with extinction based on criteria used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the recognized authority when it comes to threats to conservation of species.

Included in these threatened species are economically important crops (heart of palm, acai fruit and Brazil nut), timber species and others that people rely on for medicines, fruits, essential oils and seeds, which have crucial roles in erosion control and moderation of climate.

"Many of the species that we suggest may be threatened are used by Amazonian residents on a daily basis, and many others are crucial to Amazonian economies," said study researcher and conservation ecologist Nigel Pitman of the Field Museum in Chicago.

The loss of many species of trees would likely impact the biodiversity of the Amazon and put many other species at risk. Deforestation, along with immense habitat fragmentation, for instance, is anticipated to have immediate effect on large carnivores and primates.

The researchers, however, noted that Amazon parks, indigenous territories and reserves could protect most the threatened species as long as these are managed well.

"It's a battle we're going to see play out in our lifetimes," said study author William Laurance of James Cook University in Australia. "Either we stand up and protect these critical parks and indigenous reserves, or deforestation will erode them until we see large-scale extinctions."

Based on the trend they have observed, the researchers said that most of the 40,000 tropical tree species worldwide could also possibly qualify as globally threatened.

"If confirmed, these results would increase the number of threatened plant species on Earth by 22 percent. We show that the trends observed in Amazonia apply to trees throughout the tropics, and we predict that most of the world's >40,000 tropical tree species now qualify as globally threatened," the researchers wrote.

Photo: Matt Zimmerman | Flickr