Endemic plant species and threats to their sustainability in Ethiopia: A systematic review

Abstract

Ethiopia is located in the center of the biodiversity hotspots for the Horn of Africa and the Eastern Afro-montane regions, home to numerous endemic plant species. However, due to numerous habitat disturbances, many species are severely threatened by conservation problems, resulting in biodiversity loss. This review aimed to describe the IUCN Red List of vulnerable (VU), near threatened (NT), endangered (EN), and critically endangered (CR) endemic plant species, as well as the threats that they confront in protected areas of Ethiopia. The study identified that 88 of the 158 endemic plant species were classified as VU, NT, EN, or CR on the IUCN red list. Out of all the reviewed articles, twelve (36.4 %) reported on the threats to floral diversity. The main threats to endemic plant species in the Afromontane forests of southwest Ethiopia are livestock grazing (64.2 %), fuelwood and timber production (50.0 %), and cropland expansion (35.7 %). Conversely, the main threat to endemic plants is climate change-induced land conversion in the Afro-alpine ecosystems of the southern (Bale Mountain National Park) and northern (Semien Mountain National Park and Abune Yosef Mountain Range) regions. In the Afro-alpine belt of Ethiopia, there is a substantial threat to endemic plant species such as Lobelia rhynchopetalum due to land degradation coupled with climate change. In this respect, conservation planning for narrow-range endemic plant species in hotspot areas like, Bale Mountain National Park, Semien Mountain National Park, and Abune Yosef Mountain Range should be started promptly. Future research is necessary to fully understand the condition of 51.4 % of the endemic plant species because they were not evaluated using the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Moreover, those evaluated under IUCN Red List were not reported for their regeneration status, which limits our comprehension of their sustainability prospects.