Southeast Asia is a hotspot for oak trees, many under ‘dire threat’

A new report finds Southeast and East Asia harbor more threatened oak species than anywhere else in the world, with 172 of the world's 430 oak species occurring in the region. Researchers examined 54 threatened or data-deficient species across 14 countries and found 46 face 'very high' or 'high' human pressure across more than half their range, driven largely by wood, pulp, oil palm and rubber plantation expansion.

Vietnam holds the region's richest oak diversity, with 33 species including 15 found nowhere else, concentrated in the Annamite mountain range shared with Laos and Cambodia. None of the 54 surveyed species have more than 40% of their range under protection, and ten have less than 10% coverage.

Only 14 of the 54 species exist in botanic garden or private collections as a hedge against extinction, compared to near-total coverage for similarly threatened U.S. oak species. Researchers say the gap reflects lack of survey attention rather than lack of actual threat.

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