Eaten to extinction

• Autores: Stephanie Pain
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3124, 2017, págs. 32-34
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • The surge in demand for orchid tubers has seen the small-scale collection of tubers transformed into a flourishing commercial trade, with organized networks of middlemen offering cash for tubers. The results have been catastrophic for orchids. The scale of the harvest is staggering. It can take between 1,000 and 4,000 tubers to produce a kilo of salep. In Turkey, an estimated 30 tonnes of tubers from 38 species are harvested each year. With many orchids becoming rare or locally extinct, traders have been forced to look to neighboring Iran for supplies. Between 7 and 11 million orchids belonging to 19 species and subspecies were collected in northern Iran in 2013, the majority exported to Turkey. In Greece, a revival of interest coupled with the economic crisis has also prompted an increase in the tuber harvest. Here, Pain discusses how to prevent these plants from being eating to extinction.