Encholirium spectabile

There are no specific threats to this species, however the region and habitat where it is found is affected by a number of threats.

Caatinga is the largest dry forest region in South America and certainly one of the richest dry forests in the world. This forest originally covered ca 70% of the vegetative cover of northeast Brazil. At least 50% of the Caatinga has been either completely converted from its native vegetation or modified in a major way by human activities (i.e., the second/third most degraded ecosystem in Brazil) (Da Silva 2001, Leal et al. 2005). Vegetation remnants are distributed in different sized fragments. A high proportion of the Caatinga is under high human pressure. Unsustainable timber extraction for fuel, clearance for pastures, overgrazing, slash and burn agriculture, "Sertanjos" (conversion of remnant vegetation to new and short lived crops), desertification, extensive and uncontrolled fires and, more recently, cotton and sugar cane cultivation are all playing critical roles in the nearly complete destruction of these important regional ecosystems. Deforestation rates have been higher than in the Amazon rainforest and numerous plant species are threatened by extinction. Twenty percent of plant species threatened by extinction do not occur within any protected areas. Other threats to plant species include the spread of invasive African grasses, environmentally harmful agricultural practices, probable regional climate modification, water pollution and development of tourism (Klink and Machado 2005, Silva et al. 2006). Natural habitats in the cerrado and the Atlantic forests where the taxon is more rarely found have also been greatly degraded and are under high human pressure. Rock outcrops have frequently been preserved from human impact as they don't present much agricultural interest and they are often the last refuges of natural vegetation types. Anthropogenic disturbance may considerably modify the vegetation composition of these fragile ecosystems (Mereilles et al. 1999). Intense mining activities take place on rock outcrops in part of the region. Encholirium spectabile was collected in areas which have a medium to high human foot print (Sanderson et al. 2002). Loss of habitat is likely to erode the genetic diversity of the population.

Over the last 20 years bromeliads have become more popular in Brazil as home and garden ornamentals and this has promoted increasing collection pressures on natural populations (Versieux and Wanderley 2007, Versieux and Wendt 2007). International trade of Bromeliaceae has also rapidly expanded (Read 1989). Plants highly adapted to these hostile environments are appreciated for ornamental purposes. This creates an illegal commerce of plants extracted by local people and sold along the roads of the region. In the northeastern Atlantic forest, some ornamental bromeliads have been intensively collected and almost eliminated from forest fragments close to human settlements (Filho and Tabarelli 2006). The exact impact of extraction on the population is unknown.

The increased frequency and intensity of fires may also directly threaten the population of Encholirium spectabile. Although some Encholirium spp. have been reported to resist fires with thick mantles of persisting insulating leaf bases (Benzing 2000), Versieux and Wendt (2007) report that many Bromeliads from Campos rupestre do not seem to tolerate fire as previously thought. During their field work in Minas Gerais, they retuned to many places where fires were so intense that entire populations disappeared within a few years, regardless of their saxicolous life forms. Fires may cause complete destruction of soil islands on rock outcrops preventing recolonization by the native flora and favouring spread of invasive African grasses (Benzing 2000, Versieux and Wendt 2007).

The taxon has been collected within some protected areas although most of the habitats within the range do not appear to benefit from protection. Biodiversity conservation has consistently been one of the lowest investment priorities in the Caatinga region (Leal et al. 2005). It is cultivated in various botanical institutions. The taxon does not benefit from any legal protection in Brazil. It has been previously assessed by Forzza, as Least Concern, in 2003 (Forzza 2003).

New conservation initiatives on a small scale are now being implemented and new protected areas developed. The region is important due to its high number of species and endemics and to the fact that it is an island of aridity amid tropical mesic biomes (Leal et al. 2005). Parks and reserves in the region often fail to protect resident taxa. Illegal logging, illegal collections and corruption are common but seldom reported. Proper management plans and law enforcement are needed as well as facilitation of the much needed scientific collections and studies in these parks and reserves (Da Silva 2001, Leal et al. 2005). Forty-one percent of the Caatinga has never been surveyed by scientists and 80% of what has been was surveyed poorly (Da Silva 2001, Leal et al. 2005). Field surveys must be conducted in sites of historical collections and potentially suitable sites. The size and current range of the species must be determined.

The population should be regularly monitored. The impacts of fires, potential wild harvesting and anthropogenic disturbances on the population dynamics should be studied as well as the genetic structure of the population. Seeds should be collected for germplasm conservation.