Assessment Report - Cyphia pectinata

	IUCN Species Information Service (SIS) Toolkit
	Assessment Report

Taxonomy
Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
PLANTAE	TRACHEOPHYTA	MAGNOLIOPSIDA	ASTERALES	CAMPANULACEAE

Scientific Name:	Cyphia pectinata
Species Authority:	E.Wimm.
Common Name/s: -
Synonym/s:	-
Taxonomic Notes:	-

Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable B1ab(ii)+2ab(ii)
Year Assessed:	2023
Assessor/s:	Braun, K.
Reviewer/s:
Contributor/s:
Facilitator/s:
Institutions/s:
Justification: Cyphia pectinata is only known from within Eswatini, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 2050.064 km², and an area of occupancy of 56 km2. A small part of the range falls within a community conservation area, but this does not protect it from the threat of overgrazing by livestock, and in other parts of its range, there are additional ongoing threats from change of land use reducing its available habitat. Based on this, it has been assessed as Vulnerable, under Criterion B1 and B2. Date last seen: 2023
History:	-

Geographic Range
Range Description:	This species is known from fourteen records from Eswatini, extending from east of Hlatikhulu in the south, to the Maphalaleni Valley in the north.
Countries:	Native: Eswatini;

Population
Population:	No detailed population information is currently available for this species. This species was first recorded in 1948 near Manzini. Observations within the last ten years extend its distribution to the south, and the recent identification of specimens collected by Prof. Compton in the 1950's and 60's have further extended its range. The northern-most locality recorded for this species, Palwane, has since been subject to major changes in land use, including forestry and urban development; and the Malkerns and Manzini areas include major land use changes over the last fifty years. As the precise locality for the older records is not known, it is not possible to assume that they are no longer found in these areas, but it is likely that their habitat is under threat.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Population

Population:

No detailed population information is currently available for this species. This species was first recorded in 1948 near Manzini. Observations within the last ten years extend its distribution to the south, and the recent identification of specimens collected by Prof. Compton in the 1950's and 60's have further extended its range. The northern-most locality recorded for this species, Palwane, has since been subject to major changes in land use, including forestry and urban development; and the Malkerns and Manzini areas include major land use changes over the last fifty years. As the precise locality for the older records is not known, it is not possible to assume that they are no longer found in these areas, but it is likely that their habitat is under threat.

Population Trend:

Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology
Habitat and Ecology:	There is very little information currently available for this species. Based on approximate locality information, this plant has been observed in a range of vegetation types, including KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16), Ithala Quartzite Sourveld (Gs2), Swaziland Sour Bushveld (SVI14) and Granite Lowveld (SVI3) (Mucina et. al. 2018).
List of Habitats:	2 Savanna 2.2 Savanna - Moist 4 Grassland 4.7 Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude

Threats
Major Threat(s):	Two of the localities for this species are within a community conservation area. The remaining localities are in areas with no conservation measures in place, and changing land use. As the older records do not have precise locality information, it is not possible to confirm whether these populations have been lost due to land use changes. Possible threats include ongoing heavy grazing for Grand Valley and Ngwempisi records, possible urban development or other major land use changes for the Manzini, Malkerns and Palwane records.
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):

Two of the localities for this species are within a community conservation area. The remaining localities are in areas with no conservation measures in place, and changing land use. As the older records do not have precise locality information, it is not possible to confirm whether these populations have been lost due to land use changes. Possible threats include ongoing heavy grazing for Grand Valley and Ngwempisi records, possible urban development or other major land use changes for the Manzini, Malkerns and Palwane records.

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:	More information is needed on this species before a conservation plan can be developed. Support and upgrading of the community conservation area at Ngwempisi would assist the potential survival of this species.
List of Conservation Actions:	1 Land/water protection 1.2 Resource & habitat protection 3 Species management 3.4 Ex-situ conservation 3.4.2 Genome resource bank

Bibliography
	Bachman S, Moat J, Hill AW, 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 AW, 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: