Progress in the assessment of threatened vascular plants in East Asia and North Asia

This article provides a systematic review of the assessment progress of threatened vascular plants in East Asia and North Asia, and it summarizes the major achievements and challenges in the compilation of plant red lists and red books and species assessment across countries (China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and the Russian Asian region). A relatively complete assessment system has been established in this region, with China and Japan having the largest number of threatened vascular plant species. Orchidaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae are the most threatened species, while Rhododendron and Carex are the most threatened genera. However, significant discrepancies exist between national-level and global-leve assessments (with only 31.32% of species assessments being consistent), mainly due to differences in the understanding of assessment standards and the use of data. We also discusse the main challenges in current conservation efforts, including outdated data, difficulties in cross-country cooperation, and regional differences in assessment standards, and provide suggestions for future research. This article provides scientific support for the optimization of biodiversity conservation policies in East Asia and North Asia and emphasizes the critical role of cross-national cooperation in addressing the biodiversity crisis.