| IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit |
| Assessment Report | |
| Taxonomy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
| PLANTAE | TRACHEOPHYTA | POLYPODIOPSIDA | POLYPODIALES | THELYPTERIDACEAE |
| Scientific Name: | Metathelypteris burrowsiorum |
| Species Authority: | N.R.Crouch |
| Common Name/s: - | |
| Synonym/s: | Thelypteris burrowsiorum (N.R.Crouch) Christenh. |
| Taxonomic Notes: | - |
| Assessment Information | |
|---|---|
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Vulnerable D2 |
| Year Assessed: | 2023 |
| Assessor/s: | Braun, K. & Loffler, L. |
| Reviewer/s: | Raimondo, D. |
| Contributor/s: | |
| Facilitator/s: | |
| Institutions/s: | |
| Justification: This species is known from only one location, with an area of occupancy (AOO) of 4 km2 and an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 4 km2. It faces the potential threat of habitat degradation and conversion as a result of the spread of invasive species. Based on this, it has been assessed as Vulnerable under Criterion D. | |
| History: | - |
| Geographic Range | |
|---|---|
| Range Description: | This species has only been found in one location in the Lubombo Mountains in Eswatini. The location is close to the border with Mozambique, so it is possible that this plant might also be found in Mozambique. |
| Countries: | Native: Eswatini; |
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Population: | There is currently no population survey information available for this species, it is known from one record. The population trend is therefore unknown. |
| Population Trend: | Unknown |
| Habitat and Ecology | |
|---|---|
| Habitat and Ecology: | This species is a terrestrial plant, found on soils derived from underlying rhyolite of the Jozini Formation, in a seasonally dry stream bed protected from the erosive action of floodwater by a boulder (Crouch 2011). It is found in the savanna biome, within vegetation type Southern Lebombo Bushveld (SVI16) (Mucina et. al. 2018). |
| List of Habitats: | 2 Savanna 2.2 Savanna - Moist |
| Threats | |
|---|---|
| Major Threat(s): | At the time of assessment there were no known threats to this species. However there is clearance of other patches of Lubombo forest for the growing of Cannabis sativa within the vicinity of where this species was collected. Forest disturbance leads to dominance by the alien invasive species Chromolaena odorata and the complete conversion of habitat. This is a highly plausible potential threat. |
| List of Threats: | 2 Agriculture & aquaculture 2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops 2.1.1 Shifting agriculture 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: | The location of this species does not fall within any formal protected area. It occurs within a proposed community conservation area, the establishment of this would enhance its chances of survival. There is a need for fieldwork to determine whether this species also occurs in similar habitat both within Eswatini and the neighbouring areas of Mozambique. |
| List of Conservation Actions: | 1 Land/water protection 1.2 Resource & habitat protection |
| 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. Crouch, N.R. 2011. Pteridophyta-Thelypteridae. Bothalia 41(1): 193-196. 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: | - |