Species recovery

Back from the Brink is Plantlife's endangered species recovery programme covering 100 of the most threatened plants in the UK. This programme includes vascular plants, fungi, lichens, mosses, liverworts and algae.

In Scotland 59 of these endangered species are found.

Plantlife has been taking forward work on the recovery of these species in Scotland for 16 years. Follow the links on the right to find out what we've been doing for some of these species.

Twinflower

Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) is a characteristic plant of our native pinewoods. As well as Twinflower, Back from the Brink also includes One-flowered Wintergreen (Moneses uniflora), Intermediate Wintergreen (Orthilia secunda) and Creeping lady's-tresses (Goodyera repens), which also grow in the same habitat..

In 2000, Plantlife, alongside SNH, Forest Research and a local landowner, started to monitor a large scale experiment with Linnaea borealis and measure the impacts of timber extraction.

Plantlife also commissioned a study looking at why Twinflower is less common today than in the past and to study the influence of past management of pinewoods on the occurence of Twinflower.

Twinflower and the impacts of tree extraction

In 2001, an area of woodland with large Twinflower populations was used in a felling experiment designed to study how different densities of tree felling and extraction techniques impact on this plant.

A year after felling, monitoring showed that Twinflower patches were flowering less profusely and vegetative spread had declined.

This was to be expected because of the high levels of disturbance the patches were put under (although all twinflower patches were carefully avoided during the felling and extraction operations) and the dramatic changes in light levels.

Plantlife proposes to monitor the sites again in 2005 and 2010 to see how Twinflower continues to react to the changing levels of light in the medium term.

We expect to see an initial increase in Twinflower. However, this initial increase may slow as ling and other shrubs also react to the light and compete.

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Past informs future management

Twinflower has declined in extent over the last few hundred years, particularly before 1930s (Preston et al 2000). This has been attributed to the clearance of native woodland but is also likely to have been affected by changes in woodland and forestry management.

Plantlife's study suggested that a return to more traditional methods of timber extraction may help to enhance twinflower populations and could help them establish more widely through their habitat.

Clear felling is not a good strategy to conserve pinewood herbs, including Twinflower, as changes in light and humidity levels are too dramatic. However felling in small coups would provide a smoother continuum in environmental conditions and would also provide a mosaic of habitats that ruderals, like Twinflower, could exploit.

The scale of forestry in historical times would have been much smaller. Felling individual trees and dragging them from site was a common practice and may also have been beneficial for Twinflower in the past.

This would have maintained a range of light and humidity levels, created bare patches of ground for Twinflower to establish new plants and dragged fragments of stem from one area to another where they could establish.

Plantlife, with Forest Research, SNH and local land owners is now setting up a series of management trials to test these ideas.

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Juniper (Juniperus communis)

Plantlife is involved in a number of projects for the conservation of Juniper.

Juniper is declining across Britain. Its populations are getting older and with old age are producing fewer viable seeds. In addition, changes in land management over time have meant that Juniper seedlings do not have the necessary conditions to succeed, usually because of either under or over grazing.

In September 2004, Plantlife launched the Juniper Survey . This aims to involve people across Britain in recording Juniper – its presence, age and health - in upland areas.

The survey is easy to do and needs no botanical expertise. Click here to find out more .

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The Impacts of muirburn on Juniper regeneration

Juniper can be killed outright by burning and as a slow growing shrub, it recovers very slowly from burning damage. In addition, where Juniper bushes are old, recovery is even slower and burning can contribute to the loss of viable seed production.

This is why Plantlife commissioned a short research project to look at the impacts of muirburn on Juniper, aiming to work out how muirburn could be used to increase habitat availability for Juniper. Muirburn is the practice of burning heather moorland to encourage heather regeneration, usually for the benefit of game birds such as grouse. We expect to be able to use this research to inform the muirburn code in Juniper areas.

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Death and dying in large Juniper populations in Scotland

In 2003, SNH finished a random stratified survey of Juniper across Scotland, looking at its distribution and health at selected sites across the country. 71 sites were visited and a number of characteristics at each site were noted.

A feature that was consistently noted was the high levels of browning needles and dying bushes in the larger populations. It was thought that this could have been due to fungal infection by Phomopsis junipervora, a common infection that affects Juniper.

Plantlife brought together a range of experts to look at two sites that were badly affected. Site visits showed that Juniper was under stress from drought because of site conditions or from burrowing mammals including rabbits. Although the presence of Phomopsis junipervora was noted, there was no conclusive evidence that the fungus was killing the plants.

The next stage of this project will be to allocate funding to research at these sites looking in particular at the effect of the high stress levels at both sites. This may be the factor that is allowing fungal infection to take hold. However these results may be site specific and may not help illuminate death and dying of Juniper at other sites.

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Managing uplands for Juniper

Juniper is very specific in the conditions it needs to regenerate successfully and thrive. Plantlife has produced a leaflet that details how to manage Juniper at upland sites in Scotland, northern England and north Wales.
Download Managing uplands for Juniper (PDF 1.2mb)

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Young's Helleborine (Epipactis youngiana)

Young's Helleborine is a rare orchid that grows on mine spoil (bings) in central Scotland and northern England. It is restricted to 13 sites in Britain and has been the subject of much botanical debate, as the orchid is believed to be evolving into a separate species, possibly in relation to the very particular habitat it occupies.

Plantlife will shortly be publishing a species report (or species dossier) to provide detailed information on the plant, its genetic identity, ecology, habitat and management needs.

Plantlife Scotland, along with Falkirk LBAP (Local Biodiversity Action Plan) has also set up a project with the Hardy Orchid Society to grow Young's Helleborine seeds.

This is a test of whether the plant can produce viable seed and if it has, whether this seed will come up as a Young's Helleborine or as one of its parent plants. Results are expected from the summer of 2005 onwards.

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Irish Lady's-tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana)

Irish Lady's-tresses is a rare orchid that grows in the north west of Scotland and on some of the Hebridean islands. Little is known of its ecology and reproductive biology and Plantlife is working closely with scientists to find out more about this beautiful orchid.

Plantlife has commissioned a species report to provide detailed information on the species ecology, habitat and management needs. This will be published shortly.

Vegetative reproduction in Irish Lady's-tresses

Vegetative reproduction, i.e. reproducing from roots, is likely to be an important mechanism for this species. However, it not clear how the orchid reproduces vegetatively or what conditions it needs to do so. Plantlife are working with a specialist to find out if and how this orchid reproduces from root fragments and will use the results to inform our management advice to land owners and managers.

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Historical management and Irish Lady's-tresses

Until recently, Spiranthes romanzoffiana was thought to be closely associated with lazy beds(a system of digging linear beds to grow crops in western Scotland).

Plantlife has therefore commissioned a short research project to investigate how land that supports Spiranthes today was managed in the past to see if we can find any clues to its sustained presence there. We think it has something to do with levels of disturbance that keep down competition from other species but we are hoping to find out more.

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Pillwort (Pilularia globulifera)

Pillwort is an ancient native fern that grows in freshwater lochs and ponds in Scotland. In the past it was associated more with cattle ponds, mill ponds and curling ponds but as use of these have declined, the range of Pillwort across Scotland has also declined.

However, Pillwort remains in suitable locations in lochs where disturbance levels through animal access or changing water levels keep down competing species.

Plantlife has been involved in Pillwort conservation in Scotland for many years and has conducted a survey of Pillwort sites across Scotland plus a reintroduction to a site, where Pillwort is once again thriving.

This work and progress will be summarised in a scientific paper that we hope to publish shortly. We will also be producing a management leaflet for land owners and managers so that Pillwort sites can be managed to benefit Pillwort and maintain it as one of our characteristic species in our lochs and ponds.

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Alpine Sow-thistle (Cicerbita alpina)

Alpine Sow-thistle is a very rare plant that grows on only four rocky ledges in Scotland. It was once part of a more widely distributed mountain flora that is today restricted by changing land management practices.

It is a very palatable plant and is today restricted to these inaccessible ledges.

Because it is so rare in Scotland, there is little information on its ecology and its management. Plantlife has commissioned a species report (or species dossier) to provide detailed information on this species and its distribution in Scotland.

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Wig wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum ecad mackaii)

Wig wrack is a rare seaweed limited to sites in the north west of Scotland and the Scottish islands and also to sites in Northern Ireland. It has very precise environmental requirements.

Last surveyed in the mid 1940s, Plantlife has commissioned further survey work and the number of known sites has now increased. Plantlife have also commissioned a species report that will give detailed ecological information.

Building on this report, we will also be producing a management note for planners and managers so that the needs of wig wrack can be taken into account in shore management and developments.

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