Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in Tanzania
Background and aims – Many Aloe species are globally threatened due to overharvesting for trade and habitat destruction. CITES regulates their international trade. In Tanzania, 50% of all existing Aloe species had previously been assessed, though some of these assessments were Data Deficient. For th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Meise Botanic Garden
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Plant Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://plecevo.eu/article/24700/download/pdf/ |
| _version_ | 1797641798527483904 |
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| author | Siri Abihudi Hugo de Boer Anna Treydte |
| author_facet | Siri Abihudi Hugo de Boer Anna Treydte |
| author_sort | Siri Abihudi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and aims – Many Aloe species are globally threatened due to overharvesting for trade and habitat destruction. CITES regulates their international trade. In Tanzania, 50% of all existing Aloe species had previously been assessed, though some of these assessments were Data Deficient. For those with sufficient data, an update is required as the rate of decline has rapidly increased over the last years. Material and methods – We estimated Area of Occupancy (AOO), Extent of Occurrence (EOO), and number of locations for 22 Tanzanian Aloe species using the Geospatial Conservation Assessment software (GeoCAT). We assessed the reasons leading to their decline based on direct field observations and community perceptions. Key results – We revised the conservation status of 22 Aloe species; two were assessed as Critically Endangered, ten as Endangered, five as Vulnerable, and five as Least Concern. We re-discovered the Critically Endangered Aloe boscawenii, which had not been seen in Tanzania for more than six decades. We propose to downgrade the endemic Aloe dorotheae, Aloe leptosiphon, and Aloe flexilifolia from Critically Endangered to a lower threat level. The community perception on Aloe species availability did not accurately reflect their categorisation based on the IUCN criteria B. We identified agricultural activities and climate change effects as the two main threats to Tanzanian Aloe species.Conclusion – We conclude that overall numbers are declining for 22 Aloe species in Tanzania, mainly due to human activities. We recommend the implementation of laws and policies to protect their natural habitats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:50:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1af19d8c34c447ed980d2dc121abd652 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2032-3921 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:50:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Meise Botanic Garden |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plant Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-1af19d8c34c447ed980d2dc121abd6522023-11-02T08:29:23ZengMeise Botanic GardenPlant Ecology and Evolution2032-39212021-11-01154339140410.5091/plecevo.2021.183824700Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in TanzaniaSiri Abihudi0Hugo de Boer1Anna Treydte2Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management, Nelson Mandela African Institution for Science and Technology (NM-AIST), ArushaNatural History Museum, University of Oslo, OsloDepartment of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, StockholmBackground and aims – Many Aloe species are globally threatened due to overharvesting for trade and habitat destruction. CITES regulates their international trade. In Tanzania, 50% of all existing Aloe species had previously been assessed, though some of these assessments were Data Deficient. For those with sufficient data, an update is required as the rate of decline has rapidly increased over the last years. Material and methods – We estimated Area of Occupancy (AOO), Extent of Occurrence (EOO), and number of locations for 22 Tanzanian Aloe species using the Geospatial Conservation Assessment software (GeoCAT). We assessed the reasons leading to their decline based on direct field observations and community perceptions. Key results – We revised the conservation status of 22 Aloe species; two were assessed as Critically Endangered, ten as Endangered, five as Vulnerable, and five as Least Concern. We re-discovered the Critically Endangered Aloe boscawenii, which had not been seen in Tanzania for more than six decades. We propose to downgrade the endemic Aloe dorotheae, Aloe leptosiphon, and Aloe flexilifolia from Critically Endangered to a lower threat level. The community perception on Aloe species availability did not accurately reflect their categorisation based on the IUCN criteria B. We identified agricultural activities and climate change effects as the two main threats to Tanzanian Aloe species.Conclusion – We conclude that overall numbers are declining for 22 Aloe species in Tanzania, mainly due to human activities. We recommend the implementation of laws and policies to protect their natural habitats.https://plecevo.eu/article/24700/download/pdf/area of occupancycommunity surveysdistribution |
| spellingShingle | Siri Abihudi Hugo de Boer Anna Treydte Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in Tanzania Plant Ecology and Evolution area of occupancy community surveys distribution |
| title | Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in Tanzania |
| title_full | Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in Tanzania |
| title_fullStr | Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in Tanzania |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in Tanzania |
| title_short | Conservation status revision and communities’ perceptions of 22 Aloe species in Tanzania |
| title_sort | conservation status revision and communities perceptions of 22 aloe species in tanzania |
| topic | area of occupancy community surveys distribution |
| url | https://plecevo.eu/article/24700/download/pdf/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT siriabihudi conservationstatusrevisionandcommunitiesperceptionsof22aloespeciesintanzania AT hugodeboer conservationstatusrevisionandcommunitiesperceptionsof22aloespeciesintanzania AT annatreydte conservationstatusrevisionandcommunitiesperceptionsof22aloespeciesintanzania |