Isolepis graminoides

This species is known only from the Ruwenzori Mountains in Uganda, and Mount Elgon on the border of Uganda and Kenya. Population densities are increasing around the Rwenzori Mountains National Park, mainly comprising farmers who have intensively cultivated the surrounding edge of the park (Eilu 2013, Google Earth 2023). Therefore, pressure on the habitat for fuelwood and building materials is also increasing, even at relatively high altitudes (Eilu 2013, UNESCO 2022). However, there is no encroachment at the very high altitudes where this species occurs and therefore, the site is thought to be secure. In the future, climate change, particularly causing alarming rates of snow recession due to rising air temperature, is likely to affect the high altitude ecosystems (Eilu 2013). There are a number of threats that may be causing a decline in habitat quality within the Mount Elgon National Park, including frequent fires, droughts, cattle grazing, firewood collection and charcoal production (Sassen and Sheil 2013), although the main threat to this species at its elevation is fire. Droughts could also cause stress to this species, especially if climate change causes more frequent or longer droughts in the future. Fires often follow after a period of drought but most are human induced (Wesche 2003) and there has been an increase in the frequency of fires on Mount Elgon (BirdLife International 2022), such as a large fire in 1997 which affected 70% of the afro-alpine moorland zone (Wesche 2006). However, these threats are considered to be impacting a minority of the known subpopulations.

There are currently no known ex situ conservation sites for this species (BGCI 2023). The species occurs within the Mount Elgon National Park and the Rwenzori Mountains National Park (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2023).