Musa jackeyi

Across the Queensland tropical rain forests ecoregion, severe historic fragmentation has occurred as a result of logging activities, urban expansion and conversion of lowland rainforest to agricultural farmland. Since 1988 though, logging and land clearance has largely ceased following the declaration of the Wet Tropics of Queensland as a World Heritage Site (Goosem 2001). Where the species has been recorded from rainforest within the World Heritage Site, near Babinda and Bellenden Ker, it is possible that increased protection, and a presumed lower rate of disturbance now constitutes the greatest threat to the species; without disturbance to permit germination of dormant seeds below the leaf litter, wild bananas may lose out to competition from other rainforest plants (J. Daniells pers. comm. 2020). If, as suspected, subpopulations are small, then this effect could lead to extirpation from specific localities. The Queensland tropical rain forests ecoregion is considered particularly vulnerable to the threat of invasive pest species, the most damaging of these being feral pigs, which have been reported to wholly consume this banana plant (Zich et al. 2018), and the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi, which is associated with rainforest dieback (Goosem 2001). Expansion of tourism in the area has also placed pressure on areas of rainforest habitat (Stork et al. 2011). The ecoregion has been identified as particularly sensitive to climate change as many of the endemic species are very sensitive to both temperature and rainfall amplitude and fluctuation; it is expected that climate change will severely negatively impact the biodiversity of the area (Balston 2009). While this rainforest was previously thought to be fire resistant, significant fires have now begun to affect the area (Smee 2019). It is not clear, though, whether the canopy loss associated with tropical storms or fires is detrimental to the species and, in fact, it may be beneficial; following cyclone damage in 2006, wild bananas were observed to be flourishing in the Wooroonooran National Park (J. Daniells pers. comm. 2020).

The genus Musa is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) which aims to guarantee sustainable agriculture and food security through the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use (FAO 2009). There is one M. jackeyi germplasm accession of wild origin held by the Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) in Belgium (Ruas et al. 2017, Genesys Global Portal on Plant Genetic Resources 2020). Two botanical gardens are listed as sites of ex situ conservation for this species (BGCI 2020). The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has germplasm growing in vitro at Maroochy, and living specimens at the South Johnstone Centre for Wet Tropics Agriculture (J. Daniells pers. comm. 2020). This species occurs in Wooroonooran National Park and may occur in Daintree National Park, both of which fall within the boundaries of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020); it is unclear whether active management is apparent in any of these areas. Additionally, on Kahana road a small (0.02 km²) Nature Refuge is apparent (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020). It is suspected, given the small size of the refuge, and the documented occurrence of the species on this stretch of road, that it may be actively managed here. A range of specific Australian legislation exists to regulate land clearance, development, the introduction of non-native species, and to ensure management and protection. These include the Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Qld), the Coastal Protection and Management Act 1995 (Qld), the Biosecurity Act 2014 and the Planning Act 2016, amongst others (Queensland Legislation 2020). M. jackeyi was assessed as Rare (Possibly Threatened) in the 1997 IUCN Red List of threatened Plants, and as Endangered in Australia in the Nature Conservation Act 1992, and the Census of the Queensland Flora 2019 (Walter and Gillett 1998, Holland 2009, Ngugi 2019).