Magnolias and other threatened trees feeling the heat in Honduras

16 January 2025

A new study has revealed the dramatic impact that rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns due to climate change could have on threatened tree species in Pico Bonito, the largest national park in Honduras.

Conducted with support from Fauna & Flora and in-country partner Fundación Parque Nacional Pico Bonito (FUPNAPIB), and funded by Fondation Franklinia, the study raises the alarming prospect that vulnerable trees could be pushed to the brink of extinction as they struggle to adapt to a changing climate.

Just over a year ago, conservationists were celebrating the discovery of a new species of magnolia in this very same landscape. It’s a sobering thought that such moments of triumph can be tinged with real concern about what the future holds for Magnolia ciroorum, and for Pico Bonito’s other, already threatened, trees in a rapidly warming world.

Which trees will be worst affected by climate change?

The worst-case scenario for two of the tree species on which expert Pablo González-Xiloj focused for the study – namely Magnolia atlantida and Dendropanax hondurensis – is that they could be virtually eradicated by the end of the century. Displaced from much of their current range and increasingly confined to much higher altitudes, these beleaguered species would both face a life-and-death struggle for survival.

For other species, the outlook is less bleak. Among the target trees predicted to thrive as temperatures rise is Eugenia coyolensis. Found only in Honduras, this critically endangered tree prefers warmer and more arid conditions, so is likely to increase in abundance and range.

Studies have shown that Honduras is among the countries worst affected by climate change in recent years, a harsh reality that the recent spate of severe hurricanes has served to underline in devastating fashion. Currently, we are only just starting to understand the potential long-term impacts of global heating at a localised level in Honduras, particularly on local ecosystems and everything that depends on them.

Sergio Estrada from FUPNAPIB and local university students measuring the large leaves of the rare Magnolia atlantida tree present in the River Cangrejal area of Pico Bonito National Park, northern Honduras. © Donovan Aguirre / FUPNAPIB

Sergio Estrada from FUPNAPIB and local university students measuring the large leaves of the rare Magnolia atlantida tree in the River Cangrejal area of Pico Bonito National Park, northern Honduras.

Given the richness of biodiversity in general in Pico Bonito National Park, and its flora in particular, efforts to conserve this protected area are especially important in the face of the threat posed by climate change – creating the possibility of it becoming a natural reserve of strategic importance for the country, with species that are resilient and/or adapted to climate change.

Jehovany Cruz

Executive Director of FUPNAPIB

Given the richness of biodiversity in general in Pico Bonito National Park, and its flora in particular, efforts to conserve this protected area are especially important in the face of the threat posed by climate change – creating the possibility of it becoming a natural reserve of strategic importance for the country, with species that are resilient and/or adapted to climate change.

Jehovany Cruz

Executive Director of FUPNAPIB

Early-warning system

Whilst confined to just a handful of tree species, this particular study is a bellwether for the future of biodiversity across the entirety of Pico Bonito National Park and beyond. Trees are crucial indicators – in effect, the canaries in the coal mine – and their projected decline, or recovery, is an early-warning sign of what’s in store for the wider landscape. The results will help to inform decisions about where best to focus conservation efforts in order to combat the worst effects of climate breakdown.

Rich Howorth, Fauna & Flora’s Central America programme manager, comments: “This study not only provides important data to inform our conservation efforts in Pico Bonito National Park, but also highlights the critical importance of our work in this area going forward. Climate change is one of several threats to Honduras’ vulnerable species – the rich diversity of tropical forests in Pico Bonito is severely threatened by deforestation, agricultural expansion and illegal timber extraction, all of which Fauna & Flora and our local partners are working to address. Without efforts to protect the habitats of these tree species across a geographical and altitudinal range, the ecosystem risks collapse, resulting in dire consequences for watershed protection and water supply, as well as carbon sequestration and storage.

“Importantly, we must take a moment to consider what happens to those species that can no longer migrate higher in altitude in order to survive. In a matter of years, some fauna and flora will have nowhere else to climb and will ultimately suffocate as our world heats up. We must do everything we can to mitigate climate change before it spirals out of control, using nature as our ally.”

Members of FUBNAPIB and Fauna & Flora teams in front of new tree species Magnolia ciroorum, Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras. © Julio Bernal / Fauna & Flora

Staff from FUBNAPIB and Fauna & Flora in front of new tree species Magnolia ciroorum, Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras.

Download the full report (English)

Download

pdf

10 MB

Detail of bright-coloured flowers in Pico Bonito National Park. © Juan Pablo Moreiras / Fauna & Flora

Help us combat the climate crisis

Species and habitats worldwide are under severe pressure from global heating, but nature holds the key to recovery. Please join us in protecting and restoring nature, and help ensure a better future for people and planet.

Support our work

Detail of bright-coloured flowers in Pico Bonito National Park. © Juan Pablo Moreiras / Fauna & Flora