Plants are going extinct at a 'frightening' rate

New research entitled 'Global dataset shows geography and life form predict modern plant extinction and rediscovery' published in the journal 'Nature Ecology & Evolution' has revealed an extinction rate for plant species described by one of the study's authors as 'frightening'. Since 1750, 571 are known to have gone extinct, compared to 217 mammals, birds and amphibians. The researchers say that this rate is 500 times higher than what would be expected to occur naturally - i.e. without human influence. This rate is also considerd to be an underestimate.