# Reassessment of the Conservation Status of the Endemic and Endangered Plant Dalbergia odorifera T.C. Chen in Hainan, China

## TL;DR

This study reassesses the conservation status of the rare Hainan plant Dalbergia odorifera and finds it to be critically endangered due to its tiny and declining population.

## Contribution

The study provides a new, scientifically grounded conservation status for Dalbergia odorifera using both IUCN and Chinese evaluation criteria.

## Key findings

- Dalbergia odorifera is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) under IUCN criteria due to a severe population decline and only about 30 mature individuals.
- The species was also rated as Endangered (Grade IV) by China's evaluation system, aligning with the IUCN CR status.
- The study confirms the species' critically small, fragmented, and declining wild population in Hainan.

## Abstract

Dalbergia odorifera T.C. Chen is an endemic and endangered species in Hainan, China. This study reassessed its conservation status based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria Version 3.1 and its regional guidelines, as well as evaluation indicators for the threatened degree of the tiny population of wild plants endangered in China. The results showed that according to IUCN criteria, D. odorifera T.C. Chen was assessed as critically endangered (CR) under Criteria A1ac and D. This designation reflects the severe population decline and the extremely small number of mature individuals—only about 30—found within a total wild population of approximately 200 in Hainan. The current CR status contrasts sharply with its previous international classification of vulnerable (VU). Based on China's evaluation index system for extremely small wild plant populations, D. odorifera T.C. Chen was also rated as endangered (Grade IV). The outcomes from both assessment systems are congruent, confirming a status equivalent to CR. This consensus is underpinned by the species' critically small, fragmented, and declining wild population, with the total number of mature individuals remaining dangerously low. This study provides a scientific basis for the endangered level assessment of D. odorifera T.C. Chen and the subsequent management and protection strategies.

Dalbergia odorifera T.C. Chen is an endemic and endangered species in Hainan, China. This study reassessed its conservation status based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria Version 3.1 and its regional guidelines, as well as evaluation indicatiors for threatened degree of the tiny population of wild plants endangered in China. The results showed that:According to IUCN criteria, D. odorifera T.C. Chen was assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) under Criteria A1ac and D. This designation reflects the severe population decline and the extremely small number of mature individuals—only about 30—found within a total wild population of approximately 200 in Hainan. The current CR status contrasts sharply with its previous international classification of Vulnerable (VU).Based on China's evaluation index system for extremely small wild plant populations, D. odorifera T.C. Chen was also rated as Endangered (Grade IV). The outcomes from both assessment systems are congruent, confirming a status equivalent to CR. This consensus is underpinned by the species' critically small, fragmented, and declining wild population, with the total number of mature individuals remaining dangerously low. This study provides a scientific basis for the endangered level assessment of D. odorifera T.C. Chen and the subsequent management and protection strategies.