Deuterocohnia scapigera

The department of Santa Cruz alone, in which this species occurs, represents 75% of all land-cover change that has occurred in Bolivia, mainly driven by sugar and cotton demand in the 1970's and more recently by soy (Killeen et al. 2007). The species also occurs in southern Cochabamba, within the Campero Province. Agricultural activities are intensive in this area, with the major products being tomatoes, sugarcane and citrus fruit (Gray-Molina 1991). However, both records collected in Cochabamba occur in areas of undeveloped natural habitat (although one record was collected near a road) (Google Earth 2023).

The southern Andean Yungas ecoregion has a good coverage of national parks, however, the Rio Grande Valles Cruceños Natural Integrated Management Area, where this species is known to occur, is subject to extensive cattle grazing and agricultural forest clearance. An increase in the protection level of this site has been proposed (Fundación Natura Bolivia 2007). Outside the protected areas in the southern Andean Yungas ecoregion, habitat loss and general degradation due to human activities persist (Mee 1998). Habitat is burned for growing cash crops, and this has increased, along with logging, due to intensified road-building (Collar et al. 1992). 

It also occurs within the Bolivian montane dry forests, which are among one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world (Portillo-Quintero and Sánchez-Azofeifa 2009). Consisting of large areas of degraded land, and the region is heavily impacted by urban expansion and the associated conversion to agriculture (Fjeldså and Mayer 1996).

The species has been recorded to occur in the Pasorapa and the Rio Grande Valles Crucenos Natural Integrated Management Areas (WDPA 2020). Its seeds are not currently held in any seed bank (Genesys 2023), however, it is held in two ex situ sites worldwide (BGCI 2023).