Red List Status
EN - Endangered, B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) (IUCN version 3.1)

Red List Assessment

Red List Status

Is the reassessment subject to the 5-year rule? (Not specified)

Assessment Information

Date of Assessment: 2023-01-29

Reviewed? (Not specified)

Assessor(s): Braun, K.

Reviewer(s): (Not specified)

Contributor(s): (Not specified)

Facilitators/Compilers: (Not specified)

Institution(s): (Not specified)

Acknowledgements: (Not specified)

Regions: Global

Regional Expert Questions: (Not specified)

Assessment Rationale

Eriosema rufescens has a very limited distribution and very few known localities, with an estimated extent of occurrence of 3,462.102 km² and area of occupancy of 12 km². Fieldwork carried out in 2022 failed to locate this species, but this does not confirm its absence, and for the purposes of this assessment, the localities from older records have been included. The threats to this species include ongoing overgrazing by livestock, as well as potential expansion of forestry plantations. Based on this, it has been assessed as Endangered, under Critera B1 and B2.
Date last seen: 1975

Reasons for Change

Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment: (Not specified)

Red List Index

Red List Index: (Not specified)

Distribution

Geographic Range

This species is known from two localities within Eswatini in the north west of the country, and one locality in Giant's Castle in South Africa. There is an additional record from Eswatini but without locality information, so this has been excluded from this assessment.

Area of Occupancy (AOO)

Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) - in km2	Justification
12	The estimated area of occupancy has been based on three localities for this species, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011), with the standard 2x2 km grid cell being applied.

Continuing decline in area of occupancy (AOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	It is unknown whether there has been a decline in area of occupancy. Fieldwork in 2022 failed to locate this species in the general areas of the previous collections within Eswatini, but its absence is not yet confirmed.

Extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy (AOO)	Justification
Unknown	There is no information on extreme fluctuations in area of occupancy for this species.

Extent of Occurrence (EOO)

Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO)- in km2	EOO estimate calculated from Minimum Convex Polygon	Justification
3462.102	true	The estimated area of occupancy is based on the three recorded localities, calculated using GeoCAT (Bachman et al. 2011).

Continuing decline in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	Inferred	More fieldwork is required to determine whether there is a continuing decline in the extent of occurrence for this species.

Extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence (EOO)	Justification
Unknown	There is no information on any extreme fluctuations in extent of occurrence.

Locations Information

Number of Locations	Justification
3	This species has been recorded in two localities in Eswatini, and one in the Giants Castle area in South Africa. From this, it is estimated that there are three locations.

Continuing decline in number of locations	Qualifier	Justification
Unknown	-	It has not yet been possible to confirm a decline in number of locations. Fieldwork to try to locate this species in 2022 was unsucessful, but does not confirm its absence.

Extreme fluctuations in the number of locations	Justification
Unknown	There is no current information on any extreme fluctuations in the number of locations for this species.

Very restricted AOO or number of locations (triggers VU D2)

Very restricted in area of occupancy (AOO) and/or # of locations	Justification
Yes	This species has only been recorded in three locations, with an estimated area of occupancy of 12 km2.

Elevation / Depth / Depth Zones

Elevation Lower Limit (in metres above sea level): 1390

Elevation Upper Limit (in metres above sea level): 1990

Depth Lower Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Upper Limit (in metres below sea level): (Not specified)

Depth Zone: (Not specified)

Map Status

Map Status: (Not specified)

Biogeographic Realms

Biogeographic Realm: Afrotropical

Country	Presence	Origin	Formerly Bred	Seasonality
Eswatini	Extant	Native	-	Resident
South Africa -> KwaZulu-Natal	Extant	Native	-	Resident

Population

This species is currently known from two localities in Eswatini and one in Giant's Castle in South Africa. Fieldwork carried out in 2022 in Eswatini in the two recorded localities for this species failed to locate this plant, but this does not yet confirm its absence, so for the purposes of this assessment, it has been assumed that it still occurs in the localities noted on older records.

Population Information

Current Population Trend: Unknown

Number of mature individuals (=population size): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations? (in # of mature individuals): (Not specified)

Severely fragmented? (Not specified)

Continuing decline in mature individuals? (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 1 generation or 3 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 2 generations or 5 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Continuing decline % in mature individuals within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer (up to max. of 100 years in the future): (Not specified)

Extreme fluctuations in the number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

Continuing decline in number of subpopulations: (Not specified)

All individuals in one subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of mature individuals in largest subpopulation: (Not specified)

Number of Subpopulations: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Past

Percent Change in past: (Not specified)

Past Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of past reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Future

Percent Change in future: (Not specified)

Future Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Population Reduction - Ongoing

Both: Percent Change over any 10 year or 3 generation period, whichever is longer, and must include both past and future, future can't go beyond 100 years: (Not specified)

Both Population Reduction Basis: (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction reversible? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction understood? (Not specified)

Causes of both (past and future) reduction ceased? (Not specified)

Quantitative Analysis

Probability of extinction in the wild within 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 5 generations or 20 years, whichever is longer, maximum 100 years: (Not specified)

Probability of extinction in the wild within 100 years: (Not specified)

Habitats and Ecology

This species is known from highveld grassland areas, vegetation types KaNgwane Montane Grassland (Gm16), Barberton Montane Grassland (Gm17) and Northern KwaZulu-Natal Moist Grassland (Gs4) (Mucina et. al. 2018).

IUCN Habitats Classification Scheme

Habitat	Season	Suitability	Major Importance?
4.7. Grassland -> Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical High Altitude	-	Suitable	Yes

Continuing Decline in Habitat

Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat?	Qualifier	Justification
Yes	Inferred	There is ongoing pressure on the grassland habitats in the Eswatini highveld due to heavy grazing.

Life History

Generation Length: (Not specified)

Age at maturity: female or unspecified: (Not specified)

Age at Maturity: Male: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Female: (Not specified)

Size at Maturity (in cms): Male: (Not specified)

Longevity: (Not specified)

Average Reproductive Age: (Not specified)

Maximum Size (in cms): (Not specified)

Size at Birth (in cms): (Not specified)

Gestation Time: (Not specified)

Reproductive Periodicity: (Not specified)

Average Annual Fecundity or Litter Size: (Not specified)

Annual Rate of Population Increase: (Not specified)

Natural Mortality: (Not specified)

Does the species lay eggs? (Not specified)

Does the species give birth to live young: (Not specified)

Does the species exhibit parthenogenesis: (Not specified)

Does the species have a free-living larval stage? (Not specified)

Does the species require water for breeding? (Not specified)

Movement Patterns

Movement Patterns: (Not specified)

Congregatory: (Not specified)

Systems

System: Terrestrial

Plant / Fungi Specific

Wild relative of a crop? (Not specified)

Plant and Fungal Growth Forms: (Not specified)

Use and Trade

General Use and Trade Information

Species not utilized: (Not specified)

No use/trade information for this species: true

General notes regarding trade and use of this species: (Not specified)

Local Livelihood: (Not specified)

National Commercial Value: (Not specified)

International Commercial Value: (Not specified)

End Use: (Not specified)

Is there harvest from captive/cultivated sources of this species? (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from wild sources: (Not specified)

Trend in level of total offtake from domesticated sources: (Not specified)

Harvest Trend Comments: (Not specified)

Non- Consumptive Use

Non-consumptive use of the species? (Not specified)

Explanation of non-consumptive use: (Not specified)

Livelihoods

Livelihoods: (Not specified)

Threats

There is ongoing pressure on most of the highveld grassland areas by grazing. The locality for two of the records is in an area where there has been extensive mining activity as well as establishment of forestry plantations in the past. There is also the threat of habitat loss due to expansion of the forestry plantations or other forms of agriculture.

Threats Classification Scheme

No past, ongoing, or future threats exist to this species. (Not specified)

The threats to this species are unknown. (Not specified)

Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity
2.2.2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> Wood & pulp plantations -> Agro-industry plantations	Unknown	Minority (<50%)	Very Rapid Declines
2.3.2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> Livestock farming & ranching -> Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing	Majority (50-90%)	Slow, Significant Declines

Conservation

The localities for this species in Eswatini do not fall within any formal protected area. The one record from South Africa is from within Giant's Castle National Park.

Conservation Actions In- Place

Action Recovery Plan	Note
No	-

Systematic monitoring scheme	Note
No	-

Conservation sites identified	Note
Yes, over part of range	The one recorded location for this species in South Africa falls within Giant's Castle National Park.

Occur in at least one PA	Note
Yes	The one recorded location for this species in South Africa falls within Giant's Castle National Park.

Percentage of population protected by PAs (0-100)	Note
31-40	One of three known localities for this species falls within a protected area.

Area based regional management plan: (Not specified)

Invasive species control or prevention	Note
Unknown	-

Harvest management plan	Note
No	-

Successfully reintroduced or introduced benignly	Note
No	-

Subject to ex-situ conservation	Note
No	-

Subject to recent education and awareness programmes	Note
No	-

Included in international legislation	Note
No	-

Subject to any international management/trade controls	Note
No	-

Important Conservation Actions Needed

Conservation Actions	Note
1.2. Land/water protection -> Resource & habitat protection	The highveld grassland areas are under pressure from ongoing heavy grazing.
3.4.2. Species management -> Ex-situ conservation -> Genome resource bank	No material has yet been collected for ex-situ conservation of this species.

Research Needed

Research	Note
1.2. Research -> Population size, distribution & trends	More fieldwork is required to determine the population size, distribution and trends for this species.
1.3. Research -> Life history & ecology	More information is required on the life history and ecology of this species for conservation planning purposes.

Eriosema rufescens - Schinz