Assessment units and field data
Villalobo-Lopez and colleagues combined Copiapoa occurrence data with an assessment of trade pressure, illegal collection and landscape condition. After checking an original dataset of 1242 occurrence records, they obtained 892 unique records. Spatial data were used, among other purposes, to determine the size and fragmentation of areas occupied by the plants. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024, methods and results]
The units were taxa adopted in this analysis, including species and subspecies. The denominator therefore refers to the set of 2024 assessments. A current list of accepted names may have a different scope, and a change in a taxon's rank or boundaries changes the area for which range parameters are calculated. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024][Larridon et al. 2015]
Category counts
| Category | Number of taxa | Share of 37 assessments |
|---|---|---|
| CR · Critically Endangered | 14 | 37.8% |
| EN · Endangered | 14 | 37.8% |
| VU · Vulnerable | 6 | 16.2% |
| LC · Least Concern | 3 | 8.1% |
| Total CR + EN + VU | 34 | 91.9% |
Adding categories CR, EN and VU gives 34/37, or 91.9%. The paper's abstract gives a different set of counts and proportions for individual categories, although it also cites around 92%. The table reproduces numbers from the results section on pages 6–7 and clearly identifies the basis of the calculation. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024, pp. 6–7]
The authors' examples include C. australis and C. angustiflora as CR, C. atacamensis and C. cinerascens as EN, and C. calderana and C. armata as VU. C. coquimbana was placed in LC. These are results of this specific 2024 publication. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024, pp. 6–7]
Extent of occurrence and area of occupancy
Conservation assessments distinguish the area encompassing known sites, EOO, from the area actually occupied within the adopted grid, AOO. A plant may occur along a long coastal strip while occupying only small, separated patches of suitable habitat. In such a case, the two parameters provide different information about population geography. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024, methods]
The results reported seven taxa with AOO smaller than 10 km² and a further ten with AOO below 20 km². Such a small occupied area means that local loss of a site may affect a large proportion of the taxon's known resources. Pressure becomes more significant as populations are concentrated in a limited area. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024, pp. 6–7]
Trade and landscape condition
The authors compared statistical models relating threat assessment to plant traits and environmental pressure. Variables concerning trade, illegal collection and landscape condition were among the significant factors in the analysis. The result describes relationships in the assembled dataset and indicates which processes need consideration when assessing populations. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024]
A small range and collection pressure can act together. Removing mature plants changes the number of individuals capable of flowering, while habitat degradation limits sites for further population development. The study assessed this context across the genus, combining spatial data with pressures assigned to individual taxa. [Villalobo-Lopez et al. 2024]
Why the exact name changes the assessment
As early as 2015, Larridon and colleagues noted that narrowing the boundaries of some species required their ranges to be reassessed. Plants formerly combined in a broad species may belong after revision to several units with small areas of occurrence. This explains the importance of explicitly linking C. australis with the former C. humilis subsp. australis and documenting other name changes. [Larridon et al. 2015]
Ecological studies complement spatial assessment. A 2026 publication shows relationships between Copiapoa and numerous groups of organisms, while observations of local damage describe processes at individual sites. Each scale provides separate information about population condition and function. [Cordero et al. 2026][Carevic and Barrientos 2022]
Effects of trade and poaching pressure on extinction risk for cacti in the Atacama Desert
Villalobo-Lopez A., Peña C. M., Varas-Myrik A., Pillet M., Jahnsen P., Pliscoff P., Goettsch B., Guerrero P. C., Effects of trade and poaching pressure on extinction risk for cacti in the Atacama Desert, Conservation Biology, 2024, 38(5):e14353, doi: 10.1111/cobi.14353
The authors assess threats to Copiapoa taxa from their distribution and habitat pressures. The analysis compares the importance of trade, illegal plant collection and landscape condition. The results section gives counts for the threat categories.
An integrative approach to understanding the evolution and diversity of Copiapoa (Cactaceae), a threatened endemic Chilean genus from the Atacama desert
Larridon I., Walter H. E., Guerrero P. C., Duarte M., Cisternas M. A., Peña-Hernández C., Bauters K., Asselman P., Goetghebeur P., Samain M. S., An integrative approach to understanding the evolution and diversity of Copiapoa (Cactaceae), a threatened endemic Chilean genus from the Atacama desert, American Journal of Botany, 2015, 102(9):1506-1520, doi: 10.3732/ajb.1500168
The study brings together three chloroplast DNA regions, morphology and the distribution of Copiapoa. It discusses species boundaries, recurrent similarities in growth form and the consequences of classification changes for threat assessment.
Copiapoa cacti as multitrophic interaction hubs and thermal refugia in the hyper-arid Atacama Desert
Cordero S., Unamuno B., Escobar C., Vergara M. A., Roselló I., Villarroel J., Guerrero P. C., Copiapoa cacti as multitrophic interaction hubs and thermal refugia in the hyper-arid Atacama Desert, Journal of Arid Environments, 2026, 236:105659, doi: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2026.105659
The study of 19 Copiapoa species documents associations with herbivores, flower visitors, predators, lichens and parasitic plants. Direct observations, camera traps and thermography also show the role of stems as thermal refuges for animals.
Efectos de la introducción de fauna alóctona (Canis familiaris) en ecosistemas áridos: estudio de caso en cactáceas endémicas
Carevic F. S., Barrientos E., Efectos de la introducción de fauna alóctona (Canis familiaris) en ecosistemas áridos: estudio de caso en cactáceas endémicas, Idesia, 2022, 40(2):129-132, doi: 10.4067/S0718-34292022000200129
The study from the Freirina area compares damage to three cacti attributed to feral dogs. The authors assess the size of tears in stems and the number of damaged plants at two observation times in 2021.
