Assessment Report - Lobelia corniculata

	IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit
	Assessment Report

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	MAGNOLIOPSIDA	ASTERALES	CAMPANULACEAE

Scientific Name:	Lobelia corniculata
Species Authority:	Thulin
Common Name/s: -
Synonym/s:	-
Taxonomic Notes:	-

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:	Endangered B1ab(ii,iii,iv)+2ab(ii,iii,iv)
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, with an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 830 km², with an area of occupancy (AOO) of 20 km². Its habitat preference for moist areas along seasonal rivers and drainage lines puts it at risk from alien plant invasion by Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara, these species being a major problem in the areas it has been found. This species has been recorded from five locations and is experiencing ongoing habitat loss and degradation due flooding, alien plant invasion, and habitat disturbance from alien plant control activities. Based on this, it has been assessed as Endangered under Criterion B.
History:	-

Geographic Range
Range Description:	This species is known from north eastern Eswatini and from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Countries:	Native: Eswatini; KwaZulu-Natal;

Population
Population:	This species is known from a number of collection from the north east of Eswatini and from one record in Hluhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa. No detailed population surveys have been conducted. The presence in South Africa requires confirmation, having last been recorded in 1955. Its continued presence in Eswatini has been confirmed by a record from 2023, but more fieldwork is required for the Eswatini locations, as the species was recorded from an area where there has been habitat degradation due to alien invasive plants followed by clearing activities, and it may possibly have been lost at other historic locations. The population is declining based on observed habitat loss due to flooding and significant habitat degradation due to invasive alien plants and disturbance of habitat during alien clearing activities.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population

Population:

This species is known from a number of collection from the north east of Eswatini and from one record in Hluhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa. No detailed population surveys have been conducted. The presence in South Africa requires confirmation, having last been recorded in 1955. Its continued presence in Eswatini has been confirmed by a record from 2023, but more fieldwork is required for the Eswatini locations, as the species was recorded from an area where there has been habitat degradation due to alien invasive plants followed by clearing activities, and it may possibly have been lost at other historic locations. The population is declining based on observed habitat loss due to flooding and significant habitat degradation due to invasive alien plants and disturbance of habitat during alien clearing activities.

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology
Habitat and Ecology:	This species has been recorded from moist places, along seasonal rivers and drainage lines in grassveld and bushveld, vegetation types Tshokwane-Hlane Basalt Lowveld (SVI5), Zululand Lowveld (SVI23) and possibly Southern Lebombo Bushveld (SVI16) (Mucina et. al. 2018). The locality information for some of the older records is not accurate, so the records from Southern Lebombo Bushveld might well be from more lower lying areas nearby.
List of Habitats:	2 Savanna 2.2 Savanna - Moist 5 Wetlands (inland) 5.2 Wetlands (inland) - Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:

This species has been recorded from moist places, along seasonal rivers and drainage lines in grassveld and bushveld, vegetation types Tshokwane-Hlane Basalt Lowveld (SVI5), Zululand Lowveld (SVI23) and possibly Southern Lebombo Bushveld (SVI16) (Mucina et. al. 2018). The locality information for some of the older records is not accurate, so the records from Southern Lebombo Bushveld might well be from more lower lying areas nearby.

List of Habitats:

2 Savanna
2.2 Savanna - Moist
5 Wetlands (inland)
5.2 Wetlands (inland) - Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks

Threats
Major Threat(s):	In at least part of the range of this species, the requirement for moist habitat within savanna/woodland has meant that there has been habitat degradation due to the invasive alien plant species Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara both of which typically spread along river courses and drainage lines. In Mlawula Nature Reserve, activities have been carried out to clear affected drainage lines, but it is not yet known whether this species still occurs in areas which were heavily invaded. In spite of control measures, it is likely that the invasive species will continue to affect the area, furthermore invasive control activities are also suspected to damage the habitat. In addition to this, there is an increased risk of flooding of streams and rivers due both to human modification of river systems and as a result of increased precipitation from climate change.
List of Threats:	1 Residential & commercial development 8 Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases 8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases 8.1.2 Named species 8.1.2 Named species 11.4 Storms & flooding

Threats

Major Threat(s):

In at least part of the range of this species, the requirement for moist habitat within savanna/woodland has meant that there has been habitat degradation due to the invasive alien plant species Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara both of which typically spread along river courses and drainage lines. In Mlawula Nature Reserve, activities have been carried out to clear affected drainage lines, but it is not yet known whether this species still occurs in areas which were heavily invaded. In spite of control measures, it is likely that the invasive species will continue to affect the area, furthermore invasive control activities are also suspected to damage the habitat. In addition to this, there is an increased risk of flooding of streams and rivers due both to human modification of river systems and as a result of increased precipitation from climate change.

List of Threats:

1 Residential & commercial development
8 Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases
8.1 Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases
8.1.2 Named species
8.1.2 Named species
11.4 Storms & flooding

Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions:	This species has been recorded from within Mlawula Nature Reserve and Mbuluzi Game Reserve in Eswatini, and from Hluhluwe Game Reserve in KwaZulu Natal. The Hluhluwe record requires confirmation as it was last recorded in 1955. Ongoing invasive plant control measures are required to prevent habitat degradation for this species. No material has yet been collected for ex-situ conservation of this species. More fieldwork is required to determine status of historically recorded subpopulations to improve the understanding of population trends.
List of Conservation Actions:	2 Land/water management 2.2 Invasive/problematic species control 3 Species management 3.4 Ex-situ conservation 3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

This species has been recorded from within Mlawula Nature Reserve and Mbuluzi Game Reserve in Eswatini, and from Hluhluwe Game Reserve in KwaZulu Natal. The Hluhluwe record requires confirmation as it was last recorded in 1955. Ongoing invasive plant control measures are required to prevent habitat degradation for this species. No material has yet been collected for ex-situ conservation of this species. More fieldwork is required to determine status of historically recorded subpopulations to improve the understanding of population trends.

List of Conservation Actions:

2 Land/water management
2.2 Invasive/problematic species control
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: