Climate mapping can point to danger spots of Africa’s cycads

Published: 10th Apr, 2021

Cycads which are the world’s oldest seed-producing plants are facing extinction.

Context

Cycads which are the world’s oldest seed-producing plants are facing extinction.

About

About African Cycad

Taxa: It belongs to the most prominent taxa of Cycad.
Genus: It comes under the genus Encephalartos.
Endemism: Cycad is endemic to Africa.
Global Hotspot: Africa is considered home to a variety of cycad species and South Africa is considered as a global hotspot for cycad diversity.
Conservation Status: It is categorized under the “critically endangered” category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Threat:The biggest threat to their survival is poaching, mainly cutting of the wild old trees.
Use: They are used in traditional medicine markets and as ornamental plants in gardens.

Why they are threatened with extinction?

Alien Species: The wild cycads are facing threat by an invasive alien species, Aulacaspis yasumatsui that has entered South Africa.
Aulacaspis yasumatsuiis a scale insect which is commonly known as the Cycas Aulacaspis Scale.
It has the potential to kill cycad plants within a few months of infestation.
Climate plays an important role in influencing the spread and establishment of invasive alien species in new habitats.

Invasive Species

An invasive species is a living organism that is not native to an ecosystem and can causes harm.
It can include amphibians, plants, insects, fish, fungus, bacteria, or even an organism's seeds or eggs.
They can harm the environment, economy, or even human health.

How it is being tackled?

CLIMEX, a bio-climatic software, is used to map the areas which have favorable climatic conditions for the establishment of the pest in Africa.
The software uses historical climate data sets and future climate scenarios which are based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendations.
It collects information about temperature, relative humidity, phenology, and soil moisture that helps inthe establishment of the Cycas Aulacaspis Scale in a novel range.
These values are fed to the software, which subsequently predicts the potential hot spots for Cycas Aulacaspis Scale establishment.

How the software is helpful?

Integrated Pest Management approaches which include cultural, biological as well as chemical practices can be applied in potential hotspots to protect the cycads.

IUCN Red List

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