Assessment Report - Eragrostis comptonii

	IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit
	Assessment Report

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	LILIOPSIDA	POALES	POACEAE

Scientific Name:	Eragrostis comptonii
Species Authority:	De Winter
Common Name/s: -
Synonym/s:	-
Taxonomic Notes:	-

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:	Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(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 very restricted distribution, and is known from four locations. It has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 387 km² and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 16 km². There are ongoing threats to its habitat from overgrazing by livestock, clearing of land for subsistence farming, and most of the known range does not fall within protected areas. Based on this, it has been assessed as Endangered, under Criterion B.
History:	-

Geographic Range
Range Description:	It is known from four locations in north-western Eswatini.
Countries:	Native: Eswatini;

Population
Population:	It is known from four locations in north-western Eswatini, but there is no information on population sizes or trends. It is possible that this is an under collected species and could be more widespread. None of the records are from recent years, but it has been assumed for the purposes of this assessment that the plant still occurs in these areas, as grasses have not been investigated recently in this part of the country. It is inferred that the population is declining due to ongoing heavy grazing by livestock and increased clearing of land for subsistence farming.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population

Population:

It is known from four locations in north-western Eswatini, but there is no information on population sizes or trends. It is possible that this is an under collected species and could be more widespread. None of the records are from recent years, but it has been assumed for the purposes of this assessment that the plant still occurs in these areas, as grasses have not been investigated recently in this part of the country. It is inferred that the population is declining due to ongoing heavy grazing by livestock and increased clearing of land for subsistence farming.

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology
Habitat and Ecology:	The description of this species includes the following with regard to habitat and ecology:"Its ecology is very poorly known. Judging from the notes on specimens it tends to favour somewhat shady places such as at the foot of rocks or on forest margins." (Winter, 1990). The localites where this plant have been found all fall within the grassland biome, in KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16) (Mucina et. al. 2018).
List of Habitats:	4 Grassland 4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:

The description of this species includes the following with regard to habitat and ecology:"Its ecology is very poorly known. Judging from the notes on specimens it tends to favour somewhat shady places such as at the foot of rocks or on forest margins." (Winter, 1990). The localites where this plant have been found all fall within the grassland biome, in KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16) (Mucina et. al. 2018).

List of Habitats:

4 Grassland
4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Threats
Major Threat(s):	There are ongoing threats to the highveld grassland in Eswatini, with extensive overgrazing by livestock in many areas. In addition there are land use changes, such as establishment of plantations or other forms of agriculture including subsistence farming.
List of Threats:	2 Agriculture & aquaculture 2.3 Livestock farming & ranching 2.3.2 Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming

Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions:	One of the four sub-populations for this species is within Malolotja Nature Reserve. Collection of material for ex-situ conservation would enhance the probability of its survival. There is currently no detailed information on population sizes or trends. In addition, more fieldwork is required to determine whether it occurs at more localities. More information is also needed about its life history and ecology for better planning of conservation measures to ensure its survival.
List of Conservation Actions:	3 Species management 3.4 Ex-situ conservation 3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

One of the four sub-populations for this species is within Malolotja Nature Reserve. Collection of material for ex-situ conservation would enhance the probability of its survival. There is currently no detailed information on population sizes or trends. In addition, more fieldwork is required to determine whether it occurs at more localities. More information is also needed about its life history and ecology for better planning of conservation measures to ensure its survival.

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. Winter, B.D. 1990. A new species of Eragrostis (Chlorideae) in the E. curvula alliance. Bothalia 20: 208.

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.
Winter, B.D. 1990. A new species of Eragrostis (Chlorideae) in the E. curvula alliance. Bothalia 20: 208.

Citation: