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This is where you can read all of our latest publications including scientific studies, reports and research on plants and fungi.
The Ancient grasslands report aims to create a practical definition of the term ‘Ancient Grassland’ to better identify and protect these important grassland habitats. It suggests multiple ways of defining the term and discusses possible advantages and disadvantages in using such definitions.
Definitions are suggested based on age of grassland as well as taking into consideration ecological, environmental and historical factors and landscape features. The report examines how the terminology we use with grasslands could aid their conservation in future.
Authors: A British Ecological Society report. Facilitated by Daniela Russi, Sarah Mckain, Rob Booth and Rebecca Walley. Contributions by Caroline O’Rourke, Professor David Gowing, Professor Gareth Griffith and Dr Kevin Walker. (Full list in annex).
Read the full report here
This report explores the definition of grassland types across the UK and looks in to how these grasslands have changed in status and extent over the past century. Differing definitions can lead to difficulties in determining conservation status of grassland habitats. This report looks to explore the value of establishing consistent definitions of grassland types to aid in conservation efforts.
The report also explores the commonly quoted statistic “around 97% of species-rich grasslands have been lost in the UK over the last 100 years” to look in to any supporting evidence. It investigates pressures on grasslands and reasons behind declines as well as exploring instances where grassland types have increased in area.
Authors: Report by SLR consulting. Report commissioned by Plantlife and WWF-UK.
This report offers a review of existing literature and evidence on the numerous advantages associated with species-rich grasslands. It focuses on the ecosystem services grasslands provide and their ability to contribute towards human wellbeing.
This report examines how restoration and creation of semi-natural grasslands can offer opportunities to enhance ecosystem services while also providing a way of making these landscapes more resilient. It investigates and attempts to demonstrate the connection between grassland condition and future ecosystem services delivery. It points out how the services grasslands provide are often ‘invisible’ and as a result, grasslands can be overlooked and undervalued.
Authors: Report by SLR consulting. Commissioned by Plantlife and WWF-UK.
Wales supports almost 3 quarters of all British bryophyte species, therefore, there is a special responsibility to care for them. This report assesses threats to Welsh bryophytes, including mosses, liverworts and hornworts. It explores how they play a critical role in Welsh ecosystems, especially regarding water regulation and nutrient cycling.
This follows the publication of ‘A Vascular Plant Red Data List for Wales (Dines, 2008)’ to improve knowledge of the threats facing these species and to improve the availability of data. It’s the first report to assign threat categories to Welsh bryophytes and the first to use IUCN categories at a regional scale for this taxon group in Great Britain. The report discusses how IUCN categories were assigned. It also presents and explains the Red Data List for Wales.
Authors: Sam Bosanquet, Countryside Council for Wales, British Bryological Society, Trevor Dines, PLantlife Cymru.
This report assesses threats to Welsh vascular plants.
It’s the first report to assess the Welsh vascular plant flora using international criteria. The results of this report have been used to inform the selection of priorities for conservation in Wales and the report also allows a comparison between species at Great Britain and country level.
The report discusses how IUCN categories were assigned and then analyses differences between the Welsh list and the GB list.
The red data list for Wales is included at the end of this report and updates will be provided electronically as new data becomes available.
Authors: Dr Trevor Dines, Plantlife Wales. With help from the Vice-county recorders and Committee of the Botanical Society of the British Isles in Wales and the Countryside Council for Wales.
A provisional assessment of the best places for fungi in the UK.
Fungi are of fundamental ecological importance and yet their conservation has been halted by a lack of site-based information. This report summarises a project which involved nominating sites to be considered as Important Fungus Areas (IFAs). The project resulted in a list of 520 sites which will be used to support and underpin biodiversity conservation in the UK.
The report discusses some of the difficulties faced when surveying fungi and highlights the neglect that fungi have received with regards to their lack of inclusion in endangered species lists.
It discusses the concept behind Important Fungus Areas and examines data collection methods and the criteria for selecting such areas. The full results are presented in the annex to this report.
Authors: Report researched and written by Shelley Evans, Peter Marren and Martin Harper.
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