Key finding

Threatened species in Queensland are listed under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) in the categories ‘vulnerable’, ‘endangered’ and ‘extinct in the wild’. Species at risk of becoming threatened in the near future are listed as ‘near threatened’.

Comparison of species numbers between 2007 and 2017 show:

• the total number of threatened flora has increased by 275 (‘vulnerable’ by 208 and ‘endangered’ by 73)
• the total number of flora species listed as ‘extinct in the wild’ has reduced by 6 since 2007
• threatened species in all but the algae group have increased.

Although angiosperms (flowering plants) have the highest number of threatened species (651 species), threatened gymnosperms (seed-producing plants i.e. conifers and cycads) (23 species) and pteridophytes (spore-producing plants i.e. ferns and fern allies) (56 species) represent significant percentages of the total number of species in their taxonomic group at 25% and 10% respectively.

‘Near threatened’ flora reduced by 230 species between 2011 and 2015.  An alignment with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listing categories explains this reduction in classified ‘near threatened’ flora species.

Growing numbers of flora in the ‘vulnerable’ and ‘endangered’ categories indicates that, despite recovery efforts by Queensland state and local governments and by many non-government organisations, threatened flora continue to be at risk of extinction.

More information:

• Threatened species
• The Spring

• Previous Land clearing impact on threatened fauna habitat
• Next Density of threatened flora species habitat