Florida: tree cactus becomes first local species killed off by sea-level rise

Source: The Guardian

Florida: tree cactus becomes first local species killed off by sea-level rise

Key Largo tree cactus no longer growing naturally in US thanks to salt water inundation and soil depletion

Richard Luscombe in Miami
Tue 9 Jul 2024 14.00 BST
Last modified on Tue 9 Jul 2024 14.01 BST

Scientists in Florida have recorded what they say is the first local extinction of a species caused by sea-level rise.

The climate emergency has killed off the Key Largo tree cactus growing naturally in the US through salt water inundation and soil depletion from hurricanes, according to researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History, and Miami’s Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

The species, which is now found only on a handful of remote Caribbean islands, northern Cuba and areas of the Bahamas, was already down to only a single population of six stems in the Florida Keys.

Those were removed to a greenhouse in 2021 to ensure the species’ survival, and frequent searches since have revealed no naturally growing Key Largo cacti. There is also little prospect of it re-establishing itself, despite “tentative plans” with the Florida department of environmental protection (DEP) for a small-scale replanting project.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/09/florida-key-largo-tree-cactus-extinct