Recently the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland published the new GB Red List for Vascular Plants. This is a full revision of the 2005 list and as you can imagine it is mostly not a happy story. Red Lists look at ‘threat’ rather than scarcity – that is, the trend of a species, whether its abundance and/or geographic range is expanding or contracting. Of the 1720 species assessed for the list, 26% now have a threat status of Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable.
Wildflowers in our region: why they are struggling and how we are helping
Wildflowers in our region rely on healthy grasslands, but they are struggling. Lucy Wilson, in our Wider Countryside team, looks at some of the recent trends and why the Trust's work is vitally important for these beautiful species.
Having a quick look through our three counties, one clear trend which jumps out at me is the increased threat status of many of our chalk grassland plants. Squinancywort, Clustered Bellflower, Common Milkwort, Horseshoe Vetch, Common Restharrow, Bladder Campion, Common Rock-rose, Quaking-grass and Salad Burnet have all made the leap from being of ‘Least Concern’ 20 years ago, to now being considered as Vulnerable. The decline of these plants is a direct reflection of the loss of appropriate habitat and management in the wider area. Due to the hard work of our Trust and other conservation organisations, many of these plants have havens in which they can still thrive and hopefully expand from again once suitable habitat is back in place.
It isn’t just chalk grassland plants. Betony, Devil’s-bit Scabious and Saw-wort (see left) have also made the leap from Least Concern to Vulnerable, and Pepper-saxifrage has gone from Least Concern to Endangered. Aquatic plants are faring no better, with Marsh Marigold, Shining Pondweed, River Water-dropwort, Fine-leaved Water-dropwort and Horned Pondweed all now considered Vulnerable (were Least Concern), and Opposite-leaved Pondweed and Tubular Water-dropwort with an increased threat from Vulnerable to Endangered.
We work hard to protect many of these plants. A few which are directly applicable to some of the sites we manage, or help to manage, include Pasqueflower (was Vulnerable, now Endangered), Field Fleawort (was Vulnerable, now Endangered), Herb-paris (was Least Concern, now Vulnerable) and Kidney Vetch (now Near Threatened), the decline of the latter mirroring the decline of the Small Blue butterfly, but both are now thriving at Trumpington Meadows. One plant which is now bucking the trend is Man Orchid which has had its status moved from Endangered to Vulnerable, but this isn’t a call for complacency – it is still regarded as Nationally Scarce and its revised threat status is more an indication of a deceleration of its decline rather than an increase in numbers and range. However, this is a direct reflection of conservation efforts to help this species, and it grows on several sites that we manage.
Two other habitats which are not usually managed directly by the Trust, but our Wider Countryside teams support their protection, are road verges and arable field margins. Again, the picture isn’t rosy, with Hare’s-foot Clover and Zigzag Clover (above left) now Vulnerable (were Least Concern) and Sulphur Clover now Endangered (was Vulnerable). Crested Cow-wheat (right) is faring slightly better as it was Endangered and now regarded as Vulnerable, and Slender Tare has gone from Vulnerable to Least Concern. All are found along some of our road (or rail) verges, and the latter three are local specialities as they are generally found on the boulder clay.
The arable habitat is quite a mixed picture, with Shepherd’s-needle now Vulnerable, having been regarded as Critically Endangered 20 years ago and Spreading Hedge-parsley now Near Threatened, having been Vulnerable. Both of these are partial to the boulder clay, and the latter seems to be becoming a plant of ditch banks within arable land, presumably as it is sheltered from agricultural sprays. Our poppies are struggling, with Prickly Poppy, Rough Poppy and Long-headed Poppy all in further decline, now assessed as Endangered, Vulnerable and Vulnerable, respectively. Blue Pimpernel (below), which was of Least Concern, is now Vulnerable, but almost Endangered, so it was pleasing to find some of this recently adjacent to a County Wildlife Site, and the first record in Cambridgeshire in over ten years.
Find out how you can support wildflowers and grasslands in our region at our Wilder Future Fund page - www.wildlifebcn.org/wilderfuturefund
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