Restoration of upland hay meadows over an 11‐year chronosequence: an evaluation of the success of green hay transfer

Grassland restoration has become a key tool in addressing the drastic losses of seminatural grassland since the mid‐twentieth century. This study examined the restoration by green hay transfer of upland hay meadows, a particularly scarce and vulnerable habitat, over an 11‐year chronosequence. The community composition of 18 restoration meadows was compared with that of donor reference sites in two study areas in the Pennine region of northern England. The study investigated: differences in community composition between donor and restoration meadows; transfer of upland hay meadow target species; and the effect of time and isolation from neighboring meadows on the community composition of the restoration meadows. Results showed that restoration meadows differed from donor meadows in that some target species were easily transferred whilst others were not found in the restoration meadows, or were at low levels of cover. Time had a significant effect on the community composition of the restoration meadows, but the similarity between restoration sites and donor sites did not increase with time, and the effect of isolation was not significant. The study showed that the green hay transfer method increases botanical diversity and is an important first step in meadow restoration. However, further restoration activity, such as seed addition, is likely to be required if restoration sites are to resemble closely the reference donor sites

Restoration of a floodplain meadow in Wiltshire, UK through application of green hay and conversion from pasture to meadow management

In July 2010 green hay from a species-rich donor field was used to diversify a species-poor floodplain meadow (the receiver field), which had previously been managed as a pasture. The receiver site was prepared through harrowing. Green hay was then collected from the donor site and spread on the receiver site using a bale shredder and spreader. It was then managed as a hay meadow, with an annual hay cut in July or August, followed by aftermath grazing. The vegetation in the receiver field was monitored from 2010-2017, as was an adjacent species-rich meadow, which was used as a target reference site. Over this period, the receiver field moved towards a species-rich sward, similar to the target Alopecurus pratensis-Sansguisorba officinalis floodplain community. In 2011, 12 months after the green hay application and change of management, species richness had increased significantly, as had the goodness-of-fit to the target floodplain-meadow community. The transformation from species-poor eutrophicated grassland to a more herb-rich floodplain meadow continued over the following six years, with further increases in the frequency and cover of target species

A miniature world in decline: European Red List of Mosses, Liverworts and Hornworts

AimThis Red List is a summary of the conservation status of the European species of mosses, liverworts and hornworts, collectively known as bryophytes, evaluated according to IUCN’s Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional Level. It provides the first comprehensive, region-wide assessment of bryophytes and it identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at a European level, so that appropriate policy measures and conservation actions, based on the best available evidence, can be taken to improve their status.ScopeAll bryophytes native to or naturalised in Europe (a total of 1,817 species), have been included in this Red List. In Europe, 1,796 species were assessed, with the remaining 21 species considered Not Applicable (NA). For the EU 28, 1,728 species were assessed, with a remaining 20 species considered NA and 69 species considered Not Evaluated (NE). The geographical scope is continentwide, extending from Iceland in the west to the Urals in the east, and from Franz Josef Land in the north to theCanary Islands in the south. The Caucasus region is not included. Red List assessments were made at two regional levels: for geographical Europe and for the 28 Member States of the European Union.ResultsOverall, 22.5% of European bryophyte species assessed in this study are considered threatened in Europe, with two species classified as Extinct and six assessed as Regionally Extinct (RE). A further 9.6% (173 species) are considered Near Threatened and 63.5% (1,140 species) are assessed as Least Concern. For 93 species (5.3%), there was insufficient information available to be able to evaluate their risk of extinction and thus they were classified as Data Deficient (DD). The main threats identified were natural system modifications (i.e., dam construction, increases in fire frequency/intensity, and water management/use), climate change (mainly increasing frequency of droughts and temperature extremes), agriculture (including pollution from agricultural effluents) and aquaculture.RecommendationsPolicy measures• Use the European Red List as the scientific basis to inform regional/national lists of rare and threatened species and to identify priorities for conservation action in addition to the requirements of the Habitats Directive, thereby highlighting the conservation status of bryophytes at the regional/local level.• Use the European Red List to support the integration of conservation policy with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other national and international policies. For example, CAP Strategic Plans should include biodiversity recovery commitments that could anticipate, among others, the creation of Important Bryophyte Areas. An increased involvement of national environmental agencies in the preparation of these strategic plans, and more broadly in ongoing discussions on the Future CAP Green Architecture, would likely also ensure the design of conservation measures better tailored to conserve bryophytes in agricultural landscapes.• Update the European Red List every decade to ensure that the data remains current and relevant.• Develop Key Biodiversity Areas for bryophytes in Europe with a view to ensuring adequate site-based protection for bryophytes.Research and monitoring• Use the European Red List as a basis for future targeted fieldwork on possibly extinct and understudied species.• Establish a monitoring programme for targeted species (for example, threatened species and/or arable bryophytes).• Use the European Red List to obtain funding for research into the biology and ecology of key targeted species.Action on the ground• Use the European Red List as evidence to support multi-scale conservation initiatives, including designation of protected areas, reform of agricultural practices and land management, habitat restoration and rewilding, and pollution reduction measures.• Use the European Red List as a tool to target species that would benefit the most from the widespread implementation of the solutions offered by the 1991 Nitrates Directive (Council Directive 91/676/EEC), including the application of correct amounts of nutrients for each crop, only in periods of crop growth under suitable climatic conditions and never during periods of heavy rainfall or on frozen ground, and the creation of buffer zones to protect waters from run-off from the application of fertilizers.Ex situ conservation• Undertake ex situ conservation of species of conservation concern in botanic gardens and spore and gene banks, with a view to reintroduction where appropriate.</p

Guidance on using wetland sensitivity to climate change tool-kit. A contribution to the Wetland Vision Partnership

This report provides guidance on how to use the wetland sensitivity to climate change tools. More specifically, it guides the user in the application of tools developed to assess how climate change impacts around 2050 (2041-2070) might impact on wetland ecohydrology in England and Wales. The term ecohydrology is used because we have focused on the ecological and archaeological impacts of climate change through alteration of the freshwater hydrological cycle. For example, the tools do not cover any direct impacts of temperature changes on vegetation growth. The tools also exclude coastal wetlands that might be impacted through sea-level rise as a result of climate change; though such effects should be taken into account where relevant

Hyper-oceanic liverwort species of conservation concern: evidence for dispersal limitation and identification of suitable uncolonised regions

In order to successfully manage and conserve species and plant communities, it is important to have a good understanding of their ecology and distributions. The three liverwort species Anastrophyllum donnianum, Scapania ornithopodioides and Scapania nimbosa, are restricted to the mixed northern hepatic mat community found in the most oceanic parts of north-western Europe. These species are of conservation concern because they are globally rare with strict environmental requirements and a limited dispersal potential, which makes them vulnerable to disturbance and climate change. In this study we used species distribution modelling to (1) predict their potential distribution in Norway (2) to assess whether they are limited by dispersal or suitable climate, (3) identify which climatic factors are most important in determining their distribution and (4) suggest regions for further field based surveys. Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models were developed for each species using target-group background data, and five environmental coverage layers. Our results indicate that all three species are limited by dispersal rather than the availability of suitable areas in Norway. In particular, A. donnianum seems to be limited from reaching uncolonised highly suitable areas in northern Norway due to a barrier unsuitable region with insufficient summer rain. S. ornithopodioides is absent from northern Norway despite the presence of highly suitable regions scattered along the coast. The models locate highly suitable areas where conservation measures should be focused when they overlap with known populations. Areas of interest for targeting searches for potentially undiscovered populations are indicated.(c) Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016. This is the authors' accepted and refereed manuscript to the article