Scleria laxiflora

Due to a scarcity of specific information for S. laxiflora, only indirect ecological information can be used to give insights to potential threats it may be facing. For example, the Tanzania Environmental Threats and Opportunities Assessment, published by the United States Agency for International Development list various ecological threats that Tanzania (one of the countries in which S. laxiflora is native) is facing. Among these, “upstream water abstraction & forest degradation in upstream watersheds”, “inadequate land use planning and agreements”, “poor Environmental Impact Assessment capacity”, and “low capacity to monitor and enforce land, water laws and regulations” are the main causes of ecological degradation in wetlands of Tanzania. Chemicals from expanding agriculture may also seep into local waterways, eventually making their way to bogs in which this species grows. One of the locations (near Songea, Tanzania), is close to an expanding town with much habitat loss in the vicinity. Climate change may also play a role as a threat for S. laxiflora, but the indirect nature of it makes quantifying the threat difficult. According to the report by Byers et al. (2012), it may exacerbate pre-existing issues “especially habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, and the threat from invasive species”, as well as changing rainfall patterns. The scale and timing of these threats remains uncertain.