Editing Drosera (section)

== Conservation status ==

[[File:Drosera rotundifolia leaf1.jpg|thumb|Leaf of the round-leaved sundew, ''[[Drosera rotundifolia]]'']]

Protection of the genus varies between countries. None of the ''Drosera'' species in the United States are federally protected. Some are listed as [[Threatened species|threatened]] or [[Endangered species|endangered]] at the state level, but this gives little protection to lands under private ownership.<ref name="San Diego Zoo"/> Many of the remaining native populations are located on protected land, such as [[national park]]s or wildlife preserves.<ref name="NatureServe Explorer 2.0">{{cite web |title=Drosera anglica |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.161038/Drosera_anglica |website=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref> ''Drosera'' species are protected by law in many European countries, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Finland, [[Hungary]], [[France]], and Bulgaria.<ref name="Baranyai-2016">{{cite journal |last1=Baranyai |first1=B. |last2=Jooste |first2=H. |title=Biology, ecology, use, conservation and cultivation of round-leaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.): a review |journal=Mires and Peat |date=2016 |volume=18 |pages=1–28 |url=http://mires-and-peat.net/media/map18/map_18_18.pdf}}</ref> In Australia, they are listed as "threatened".<ref name="AusGov">{{cite web |title=Drosera prolifera Glossary SPRAT Profile |url=https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=9940 |website=Species Profile and Threats Database |publisher=Australian Government |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref> In South America and the Caribbean, ''Drosera'' species in a number of areas are considered critical, endangered or vulnerable, while other areas have not been surveyed.<ref name="de Stefano-2001">{{cite journal |last1=de Stefano |first1=Rodrigo Duno |last2=dos Santos Silva |first2=Tania Regina |title=Conservation status of the carnivorous genus Drosera in South America and the Caribbean |journal=Harvard Papers in Botany |date=2001 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=253–260 |jstor=41761649 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41761649 |access-date=15 March 2022 |issn=1043-4534}}</ref> At the same time that species are at risk in South Africa,<ref name="Cross-2020"/> new species continue to be discovered in the [[Western Cape]]<ref name="Fleischmann-2018">{{cite journal |last1=Fleischmann |first1=Andreas |title=Drosera xerophila ( Droseraceae ), a new species from Overberg District, South Africa, and an overview of the rosetted hemicryptophyte sundew species from Western Cape Province |journal=Willdenowia |date=April 2018 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=93–107 |doi=10.3372/wi.48.48106|s2cid=90715895 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and [[Madagascar]].<ref name="Fleischmann-2020">{{cite journal |last1=Fleischmann |first1=Andreas S. |last2=Rakotoarivelo |first2=Nivo H. |last3=Roccia |first3=Aymeric |last4=Gonella |first4=Paulo M. |last5=Andriamiarisoa |first5=Lala Roger |last6=Razanatsima |first6=Aina |last7=Rakotoarivony |first7=Fortunat |title=A new and endemic species of Drosera (Droseraceae) from Madagascar |journal=Plant Ecology and Evolution |pages=283–291 |date=2020|volume=153 |issue=2 |doi=10.5091/plecevo.2020.1705 |jstor=26927031 |s2cid=225539874 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Worldwide, ''Drosera''  are at risk of extinction due to the destruction of natural habitat through urban and agricultural development. They are also threatened by the illegal collection of wild plants for the horticultural trade.<ref name="Cross-2020">{{cite journal |last1=Cross |first1=Adam T. |last2=Krueger |first2=Thilo A. |last3=Gonella |first3=Paulo M. |last4=Robinson |first4=Alastair S. |last5=Fleischmann |first5=Andreas S. |title=Conservation of carnivorous plants in the age of extinction |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |date=1 December 2020 |volume=24 |pages=e01272 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01272 |s2cid=225228358 |language=en |issn=2351-9894 |quote="The most significant threats placing species at imminent risk of extinction include the continuing clearing of natural habitat for urban and agricultural development and the illegal collection of individuals from the wild for horticultural trade."|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020GEcoC..2401272C |hdl=20.500.11937/84611 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> An additional risk is [[climate change|environmental change]], because species are often specifically adapted to a precise location and set of conditions.<ref name="Cross-2020"/>

Currently, the largest threat in Europe and North America is loss of wetland habitat.<ref name="San Diego Zoo">{{cite web |title=Sundew |url=https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/plants/sundew |website=San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="National Wildlife Federation">{{cite web |title=Sundews |url=https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Sundews |website=The National Wildlife Federation |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref> Causes include urban development and the draining of bogs for agricultural uses and peat harvesting.<ref name="Cross-2020"/>
Such threats have led to the extirpation of some species from parts of their former range. Reintroduction of plants into such habitats is usually difficult or impossible, as the ecological needs of certain populations are closely tied to their geographical location.<ref name="Cross-2020"/> Increased legal protection of bogs and moors,<ref name="Lausche-2011">{{cite book |last1=Lausche |first1=Barbara J. |title=Guidelines for Protected Areas Legislation |date=2011 |publisher=IUCN |location=Gland, Switzerland |isbn=978-2-8317-1245-1 |pages=143 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=13gGb2rQVQwC&pg=PA143}}</ref> and a concentrated effort to renaturalize such habitats, are possible ways to combat threats to ''Drosera''  plants' survival.<ref name="Barbour-2007">{{cite book |last1=Barbour |first1=Michael |last2=Keeler-Wolf |first2=Todd |last3=Schoenherr |first3=Allan A. |title=Terrestrial Vegetation of California, 3rd Edition |date=17 July 2007 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24955-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YNAWPSMm2CUC&pg=PA116}}</ref> As part of the landscape, sundews are often overlooked or not recognized at all.<ref name="Newlin-2013">{{cite book |last1=Newlin |first1=William V. P. |last2=Cline |first2=Kenneth S. |last3=Briggs |first3=Rachel |last4=Namnoum |first4=A. Addison |last5=Ciccotelli |first5=Brett |title=The College of the Atlantic Guide to the Lakes and Ponds of Mt. Desert: Discovering the Freshwater Gems of Maine's Largest Island |date=27 August 2013 |publisher=North Atlantic Books |isbn=978-1-58394-797-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V8VvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA283}}</ref><ref name="Harris-2020">{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Kerri-Lee |title=Rainbow Sundews |url=https://southernforestlife.net/happenings/2020/8/sundews |website=Life in a Southern Forest|date=August 25, 2020 |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref>

In South Africa and Australia, two of the three centers of [[species diversity]], the natural habitats of these plants are undergoing a high degree of pressure from human activities.  The African sundews ''[[Drosera insolita|D. insolita]]'' and ''[[Drosera katangensis|D. katangensis]]'' are listed as critically endangered by the  [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN), while ''[[Drosera bequaertii|D. bequaertii]]'' is listed as vulnerable.<ref name="San Diego Zoo"/> Expanding population centers such as [[Queensland]], [[Perth]], and [[Cape Town]], and the draining of moist areas for agriculture and forestry in rural areas threaten many such habitats. The droughts that have been sweeping Australia in the 21st century pose a threat to many species by drying up previously moist areas.<ref name="Cross-2020"/>

Those species endemic to a very limited area are often most threatened by the collection of plants from the wild. ''[[Drosera madagascariensis|D. madagascariensis]]'' is considered endangered in [[Madagascar]] because of the large-scale removal of plants from the wild for exportation; 10 - 200 million plants are harvested for commercial medicinal use annually.<ref name="Baranyai-2016"/><ref name="Cross-2020"/>