Aristida abnormis | UAE National Red List of Vascular Plants

Taxa
Aristida abnormis | Chiov.
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Plants
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Flowering Plants
Assessed taxon level
Species
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Within the UAE this species inhabits salt flats around the Arabian Gulf coast (Jongbloed et al. 2003, Al Mehairbi et al. 2019). The species has also been observed in the Ru'us Al-Jibal Mountains to c.1,350 m elevation (Feulner 2011) and in the Wadi Wurayah National Park (Feulner 2016); it is considered typical of the Hajar Mountains (G. Brown pers. comm. 2019), and there is also a record from the east coast in Sharjah. Al Mehairbi et al. (2019) consider the species to be restricted to the Arabian Gulf coast, and even there, absent from large areas. Globally, this species occurs from north-eastern Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, to Iran and Pakistan (Board of Trustees, RBG Kew 2018).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The species is annual grass, up to 0.6 m (Al Mehairbi et al. 2019) with lance-shaped leaves. It occurs in sand and salt flats along the Arabian Gulf coast (Jongbloed et al. 2003), in silt in the mountains (Feulner 2011), and in a range of habitats such as wadis, wadi slopes, terraces, gulleys and slopes in Wadi Wurayah (Feulner 2016).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Least Concern
Assessment status abreviation
LC
Assessment rationale/justification
Within the UAE, this species is found along the Arabian Gulf coast (Jongbloed et al. 2003), in the Hajar Mountains and foothills, and on the east coast. It is not a common species and is likely to have been impacted by, especially, coastal development. However, it has a large estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) and is considered to be Least Concern.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
Impacts from coastal development are likely to have been significant. The species is grazed (Al Hehairi et al. 2019) but the impacts are not thought to be significant.
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Aristida abnormis Plantae Tracheophyta Liliopsida Poales Poaceae Aristida