Assessment Report - Disa intermedia

	IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit
	Assessment Report

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	LILIOPSIDA	ASPARAGALES	ORCHIDACEAE

Scientific Name:	Disa intermedia
Species Authority:	H.P.Linder
Common Name/s: -
Synonym/s:	-
Taxonomic Notes:	-

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable B1ab(i,ii,iii)+2ab(i,ii,iii)
Year Assessed:	2023
Assessor/s:	Braun, K. & Loffler, L.
Reviewer/s:	Raimondo, D.
Contributor/s:
Facilitator/s:
Institutions/s:
Justification: This species is only known from a very limited distribution range, with an extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) of 28 km². There are eight locations and the population is declining at the majority of these due to change of land use. It has therefore been assessed as Vulnerable under Criterion B.
History:	-

Geographic Range
Range Description:	This species is only known from the Eswatini highveld in an area extending from Hawane north east into Malolotja Nature Reserve.
Countries:	Native: Eswatini;

Population
Population:	No detailed population surveys have been conducted for this species, so any population information is based on specimen label information or data provided with the observation. It has been recorded from two locations within Malolotja Nature Reserve, and six locations in the Hawane/Forbes Reef area. For the purposes of this assessment, it has been assumed that the plant still occurs at the subpopulations described on the older herbarium records. The flowering of this species might be dependent on the fire regime, and if not in flower, this plant is not easily located, so it is possible that it is still present in these areas. The population trend is declining as a result of habitat conversion.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population

Population:

No detailed population surveys have been conducted for this species, so any population information is based on specimen label information or data provided with the observation. It has been recorded from two locations within Malolotja Nature Reserve, and six locations in the Hawane/Forbes Reef area. For the purposes of this assessment, it has been assumed that the plant still occurs at the subpopulations described on the older herbarium records. The flowering of this species might be dependent on the fire regime, and if not in flower, this plant is not easily located, so it is possible that it is still present in these areas. The population trend is declining as a result of habitat conversion.

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology
Habitat and Ecology:	It is known from open sourveld grassland areas. The entire distribution falls within vegetation type KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16) (Mucina et. al. 2018). The species is found on shallow soils in well-drained localities.
List of Habitats:	4 Grassland 4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Threats
Major Threat(s):	Although some of the known subpopulations for this plant fall within a protected area, most of the distribution is in the Hawane/Forbes Reef area, where significant levels of land use change for informal settlement and small scale industries and various forms of agriculture. Most of the area outside of Malolotja Nature Reserve is also subject to heavy grazing. Some of its former habitat has been lost to infestations of invasive woody aliens (Acacia mearnsii).
List of Threats:	1 Residential & commercial development 1.1 Housing & urban areas 2 Agriculture & aquaculture 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops 2.1.2 Small-holder farming 2.3 Livestock farming & ranching 2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming 8 Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases 8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases 8.1.2 Named species

Threats

Major Threat(s):

Although some of the known subpopulations for this plant fall within a protected area, most of the distribution is in the Hawane/Forbes Reef area, where significant levels of land use change for informal settlement and small scale industries and various forms of agriculture. Most of the area outside of Malolotja Nature Reserve is also subject to heavy grazing. Some of its former habitat has been lost to infestations of invasive woody aliens (Acacia mearnsii).

List of Threats:

1 Residential & commercial development
1.1 Housing & urban areas
2 Agriculture & aquaculture
2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops
2.1.2 Small-holder farming
2.3 Livestock farming & ranching
2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming
8 Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases
8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases
8.1.2 Named species

Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions:	Part of the distribution of this species falls within Malolotja Nature Reserve, providing at least some measure of protection for this plant.
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: