Andropogon bentii

The island of Socotra has a number of threats to the native flora, including urban development, changes to traditional land management leading to overgrazing, soil erosion and deforestation (Miller and Morris 2004, Brown and Mies 2012). The Hadiboh Plain has been affected by overgrazing due to an increase in livestock population causing reductions in the area of scrub vegetation. The area of Croton scrub has decreased by half from 1967 to 1998 but the area of Jatropha scrub closer to the higher elevations has remained constant (Brown and Mies 2012). This species is reported to be used as a fodder grass for grazing, especially the young growth (Miller and Morris 2004). Shrubby perennial grasses, like this species are one of the few plants available during the dry season or prolonged drought for livestock grazing so are particularly vulnerable (T. Miller pers. comm. 2016). 

Hadiboh plain may also be affected by tourist infrastructure in the future (van Damme and Banfield 2013), however due to security issues in the region there is unlikely to be an increase in tourism to the island in the near future. The other areas of the island (Jebel Ma'alah and Ra's Momi) where this species have been recorded are more remote and under less human pressure, but there is still a risk of grazing at these sites. Both these sites are Important Bird Areas and have been assessed in 2013 by BirdLife International (2015a,b). There were low level of threats reported at Jebel Ma'alah and medium threats to Ra's Momi (increased human disturbance). However changes to traditional land management use are occurring across the entire island and all sites are at risk from human activities, particularly grazing (T. Miller pers. comm. 2016) and potential damage from road and urban infrastructure development (van Damme and Banfield 2011).

The Socotra Archipelago is a UNESCO World Heritage site and an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Socotra island was divided into different conservation zones in 2000, with 73% of the island making up the national park zone (Brown and Mies 2012). All the known localities for this species fall within the national park zone but Hadiboh Plain in the north is close to the resource zone which whilst still protected does allow use of natural resources by the local communities. However with the past unstable governance of Socotra it is not known how well these zones are currently managed. There are no known ex situ collections (BGCI 2016) and ex situ conservation is recommended. Further research, including a survey of the known sites for this species to study habitat quality and population size are also recommended.