Assessment Report - Afroaster pseudobakerianus

	IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit
	Assessment Report

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	MAGNOLIOPSIDA	ASTERALES	ASTERACEAE

Scientific Name:	Afroaster pseudobakerianus
Species Authority:	(W.Lippert) J.C.Manning & Goldblatt
Common Name/s: -
Synonym/s:	Aster pseudobakerianus W.Lippert
Taxonomic Notes:	-

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii)
Year Assessed:	2023
Assessor/s:	Braun, K. & Loffler, L.
Reviewer/s:	Raimondo, D.
Contributor/s:
Facilitator/s:
Institutions/s:
Justification: This species has a limited distribution range, having only been recorded from within Eswatini. The estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) is 2831 km², and the area of occupancy (AOO) of 24 km². Although the species has not been recorded in recent years, there are eight historic collections from six collection localities and at the time of assessment, there was no evidence to indicate that they no longer occur in these areas. The species is suspected to occur at between six and ten locations. There is ongoing loss and degradation of its grassland habitat due to overgrazing by livestock, as well as urban expansion and other forms of land use change. Based on this, it has been assessed as Vulnerable under Criterion B.
History:	-

Geographic Range
Range Description:	This species is endemic to Eswatini and has been recorded from the highveld region, from north of Mbabane southwards towards Nhlangano and Mahamba.
Countries:	Native: Eswatini;

Population
Population:	This species was recorded in the 1950's and 60's, with only one recent record from 2002. No recent population data are currently available, but it is inferred that it is declining due to habitat degradation from livestock grazing and burning, and habitat loss from urban development.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology
Habitat and Ecology:	The records for this species are primarily from KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16) vegetation type, with one record from Swaziland Sour Bushveld (SVI14) (Mucina et. al. 2018). The locality information has been based on the written descriptions on herbarium specimens, so it is possible that in spite of the one record apparently being found in savanna, that it was found in grassland nearby.
List of Habitats:	4 Grassland 4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Threats
Major Threat(s):	This species is found in the highveld grassland areas in Eswatini. These areas are, in general, subject to heavy grazing, but further fieldwork is required to determine whether this plant has been affected, and to what degree. In addition, two of the localities are within the Mbabane urban area and are suspected to have been affected by urban development. Fieldwork is required to confirm this. There has also been past loss of habitat due to forestry plantations.
List of Threats:	1 Residential & commercial development 1.1 Housing & urban areas 2 Agriculture & aquaculture 2.2 Wood & pulp plantations 2.2.2 Agro-industry plantations 2.3 Livestock farming & ranching 2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming

Threats

Major Threat(s):

This species is found in the highveld grassland areas in Eswatini. These areas are, in general, subject to heavy grazing, but further fieldwork is required to determine whether this plant has been affected, and to what degree. In addition, two of the localities are within the Mbabane urban area and are suspected to have been affected by urban development. Fieldwork is required to confirm this. There has also been past loss of habitat due to forestry plantations.

List of Threats:

1 Residential & commercial development
1.1 Housing & urban areas
2 Agriculture & aquaculture
2.2 Wood & pulp plantations
2.2.2 Agro-industry plantations
2.3 Livestock farming & ranching
2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming

Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions:	This species has not yet been recorded from any existing conservation areas. There is currently no ex-situ conservation for this species. Collection of material for ex-situ conservation would enhance the potential survival of this plant. More information is required on population sizes and trends, as well as further fieldwork to determine whether subpopulations from historical collections are still extant and whether there are any additional locations for this species. Furthermore very little is currently known about the life history and ecology of this species.
List of Conservation Actions:	3 Species management 3.4 Ex-situ conservation 3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

This species has not yet been recorded from any existing conservation areas. There is currently no ex-situ conservation for this species. Collection of material for ex-situ conservation would enhance the potential survival of this plant. More information is required on population sizes and trends, as well as further fieldwork to determine whether subpopulations from historical collections are still extant and whether there are any additional locations for this species. Furthermore very little is currently known about the life history and ecology of this species.

List of Conservation Actions:

3 Species management
3.4 Ex-situ conservation
3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Bibliography
	Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., de la Torre, J. and Scott, B. 2011. Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT geospatial conservation tool. In: Smith V, Penev L (Eds) e-Infrastructure for data publishing in biodiversity science. . ZooKeys 150: 117-126. Mucina, L., Rutherford, M.C. and Powrie, L.W. (Editors). 2018. The Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Available at: http://bgis.sanbi.org/Projects/Detail/186.

Bibliography

Bachman, S., Moat, J., Hill, A.W., de la Torre, J. and Scott, B. 2011. Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT geospatial conservation tool. In: Smith V, Penev L (Eds) e-Infrastructure for data publishing in biodiversity science. . ZooKeys 150: 117-126.
Mucina, L., Rutherford, M.C. and Powrie, L.W. (Editors). 2018. The Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. South African National Biodiversity Institute. Available at: http://bgis.sanbi.org/Projects/Detail/186.

Citation: