Lemeltonia cornuta

Epiphytes have experienced dramatic population decreases mainly because of habitat loss and extraction activities, which have driven many species close to extinction (Mondragon et al. 2006). The forests in the region, especially in the lower elevations, have suffered major habitat loss due to logging, human settlement, construction of highways, oil exploration, agriculture, activities associated with banana plantations and extraction of palm oil and rubber and grazing. Threats may be reduced in less accessible higher elevations. However, these areas are also under pressure as human settlements expand. The western Forests of Ecuador are one of the most threatened habitats of the world (Klein 2001, Krabbe 2001). Fragmentation of forests is a major cause of Bromeliad extinction. It can lead to the loss of emergent trees (key habitats for epyphitic Bromeliads), a reduction in pollinator abundance, habitat desiccation and invasion of ruderal plants. Fragments are more prone to fire, which appears to be detrimental to many Bromeliad species (Benzing 2000, Ariani et al. 2004, Filho and Leme 2007). Forest fragmentation also facilitates the extraction of ornamental species (Benzing 2000, Filho and Tabarelli 2006), including many Tillandsia species. The degree to which this particular species is affected and its resilience to such disturbance is unknown. However, this is a shade and moisture loving species mainly collected in mature forest and may be susceptible to such disturbance. This species is grown as an ornamental (Loewer 2002). Tillandsia species are relatively difficult to propagate and take several years to flower from seeds and propagation by offsets, which form after flowering, in only limited numbers. These factors may increase the incentive to collect wild specimens for direct sale. There is evidence that some plant species for sale are collected from the wild in Central and South America (Read 1989, Wolf and Konnings 2001). The impact of potential collection for the horticultural trade on the population of this species is unknown. Tropical montane forests are especially sensitive to atmospheric climate change, predicted increases in dry seasons, drought and reduction in cloud formation patterns may severely disrupt these ecosystems in the future (Winkler et al. 2007).

This species has been collected within the protected areas network, however most of the species' native range is not known to benefit from habitat protection. In Ecuador a number of botanical institutions keep living collections. Surveys and censuses should be conducted in historical localities of collection and potentially suitable sites of occurrence to determine the current size and range of the population and whether local extinction has occurred. The population should be closely monitored and its dynamics studied. Seeds should be collected and stored as part of ex situ conservation measures.