New assessment of the conservation status of mosses in Aotearoa New Zealand

Summary

This is a call for advice about any changes in status of mosses in Aotearoa New Zealand, to inform a revision of the assessment for this group in the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS).

View the current list giving the status of 110 taxa in Rolfe et al. 2016, Conservation status of New Zealand mosses, 2024 (PDF, 583K).

Data can be accessed on the NZTCS website at nztcs.org.nz.

An expert panel will meet to review the classification of mosses in Aotearoa New Zealand including use of supplied information.

An assessment will be made based on a scientific approach using two criteria:

• the size of the population or estimated area of occupancy
• the expected trend (amount of decline or increase) for each taxon (species, subspecies, variety, etc.), regardless of whether it is taxonomically determinate (having a formal scientific name) or indeterminate (having an informal ‘tag name’).

How to contribute

Consultation closed on 11 November 2024.

Background information

The New Zealand Threat Classification System allows the classification of conservation status/risk of extinction of all organisms known to occur in a wild state in New Zealand. Endemics, non-endemic natives, migrants, vagrants, and introduced and naturalised species are all included, as are taxa which have not been formally described.

The NZTCS is not a priority-setting system. It is a resource to support priority setting, among other functions.

Panels of experts from New Zealand’s scientific community determine conservation statuses by assessing:

• population size - number of breeding adults or the area of occupied habitat
• forecast change in population size - over either the next three generations or 10 years, whichever is longer
• whether the current state of the population is a result of human-induced effects.

Groups of organisms are assessed approximately every five years.

The assessments of each group of organisms, for example, birds, fungi, vascular plants, marine invertebrates, are published as scientific monograph series which are considered part of the formal international scientific literature.

View PDF copies of the assessment reports are publicly available on at New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS).

The assessment data are also publicly available on the NZTCS database.

Contact

Email us at threatstatus@doc.govt.nz if you need any assistance or clarification about this consultation process.