Guest guest Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Thought those from the UK might find this of interest from the Native plants list I belong to. Lynda - > I thought you would find this of interest. Has anyone > read Jared Diamond's " Collapse " ? I finally got my > hands on a copy from the local library. I've been on > the waiting list for months. I'm still in the > introduction - the part about Montana. He has some > interesting comments about natives and invasives. > -Keith > > British plants fighting for space > By Jonathan Amos > BBC News science reporter > > Britain has made good progress in trying to preserve > some of its rarest wild plants, but it has largely > failed to halt widespread species decline. > > That is one key message to come out of the new > Vascular Plant Red Data List for Great Britain, > published by a coalition of botanists. > > The report represents the most comprehensive > assessment to date of the state of the UK's flora. > > Of 1,756 plant types, about 20% are currently > threatened with extinction. > > The analysis laments the near-disappearance from large > areas of the country of arable " weeds " , such as the > prickly poppy. > > This population of wild flowers that once proliferated > in field margins has seen perhaps the steepest decline > of all plant groups in the past 40 years. > > They have been pushed out by highly intensive methods > of crop production that give little opportunity for > competing seeds to flourish on farmland. > > Fragmented sites > > " We've got two arable plants now that are listed as > critically endangered - corn buttercup and shepherd's > needle - which have never appeared on any Red List > before. They've both shown a greater than 80% decline > in recent years, " said Chris Cheffings, the plants > adviser at the Joint Nature Conservation Committee > (JNCC). > > " Yes, arable plants have suffered the most, but we're > also extremely concerned about upland plants - such as > mossy saxifrage, the dwarf willows and northern-rock > cress - which have suffered because of overgrazing. > > " Some upland plants have bounced back after the > reduction in sheep grazing following foot-and-mouth - > but others have not, and we need to act now if we're > going to have any hope of them recovering, " she told > the BBC News website. > > Of concern, too, are those plants that prosper on > unimproved grassland. Many are said to be hanging on > in small fragments, such as at roadsides, and even > here they are under severe pressure. > > Overall, the assessment is that 30% of Britain's flora > have experienced a decline since the 1960s. > > " The threats facing some species have been overlooked > in the past - it's horrifying that there are only 11 > plants of western juniper left in Britain for example; > yet it has never been listed as a threatened species > before, " commented Trevor Dines, a conservation > officer with the Plantlife charity. > > " But perhaps more alarming is how so many once > widespread plants, such as butterfly orchids and corn > spurrey, have suffered in the modern landscape. > > " It's only by understanding which species are > threatened and why that we can save them. " > > 'Positive' outlook > > The Red List is essentially a statistical analysis of > the data collected for the " bible " of UK botany known > as The New Atlas Of The British And Irish Flora. > Published in 2002, the atlas updated a volume put out > 40 years previously. > > The intervening decades saw colossal changes in the > landscape that were largely brought about by the > subsidy-driven practices of the European Common > Agricultural Policy. > > What the new assessment does is highlight the > significant trends in the data, and this information > will now be used to help set the priorities for future > conservation policy. > > Some botanists are hopeful that many plants currently > classified as threatened can make strong returns under > new agri-environment initiatives, such as the > Entry-Level Stewardship scheme which pays farmers to > restore habitats. > > Conservation groups and agencies, too, are sponsoring > more plant-friendly approaches to land management, > including the re-flooding of drained wetlands and the > re-introduction of gentle livestock grazing. > > David Pearman is a past president of the Botanical > Society of the British Isles and was a joint editor on > the New Atlas. > > " I'm quite positive, particularly about the lowland > areas, " he told the BBC News website. > > " Take the pygmy rush on the Lizard, the early spider > orchid on the Dorset coast; and on the Dorset heath, > the great sundew, an insectivorous plant that thrives > on open bogs. They've all turned the corner. " > > Chris Cheffings added: " Obviously, we do have to > accept some change, particularly with climate change. > There are certain things over which we simply have no > control. We have a suite of Mediterranean-type plants, > for example, which have extended their range in recent > years. > > " But where the numbers are so down; where you get > clear anthropogenic effects - I just think those kinds > of changes are just too great to sit back and do > nothing. " > > There are more than 70 plant species on the UK's > Biodiversity Action Plan. The collection is currently > being reviewed and a revised list supported by > conservation proposals should be published towards the > end of 2006. > > Story from BBC NEWS: > http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/sci/tech/4522787.stm > > Published: 2005/05/08 23:58:15 GMT > > © BBC MMV > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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