(Image: Tony Marsh Photography)
Nearly half of Scotland’s flowering plant species have declined over the past 50 years, prompting the launch of a new national strategy to protect and restore plant life.
The Scottish Plant Biodiversity Strategy, unveiled by NatureScot and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), sets out 10 urgent actions to reverse the decline of plants and lichens across the country.
Alison and Sam WG, Endangered plant rescue. (Image: Richard Spowart/NatureScot)
Figures show that 47% of flowering plant species have declined in Scotland over the past five decades. The losses are even greater among mosses, at 62%, and lichens, at 57%.
The strategy calls for greater public participation in citizen science, more plant science education and expanded support for habitat restoration, including native woodlands, peatlands, orchards and seagrass meadows.
It was developed with input from environmental and botanical charities, agencies, volunteer and trade associations, national parks, local authorities and environmental organisations.
One priority is the recovery of threatened species such as the twinflower (Linnaea borealis), one of Scotland’s rarest wildflowers. With fewer than 800 plants remaining in the UK, a nursery supported by the Nature Restoration Fund has seen more than 1,000 cuttings moved to new sites. Once established, the young plants are intended to be transferred into suitable wild habitats.
One flowered Wintergreen. (Image: Richard Spowart/NatureScot)
Another conservation effort has focused on one-flowered wintergreen (Moneses uniflora), a woodland plant now found at only seven sites in Scotland.
Plantlife, Forestry and Land Scotland, RBGE and NatureScot have worked together to relocate plants from areas threatened by coastal erosion to safer woodland locations.
The strategy supports Scotland’s wider biodiversity ambitions to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and restore nature by 2045.
The full Scottish Plant Biodiversity Strategy is available through NatureScot.
Twinflower. (Image: Lorne Gill/NatureScot)
Nick Halfhide, chief executive of NatureScot, said: "In Scotland we are fortunate to have exceptional, and internationally important ecosystems, such as temperate rainforest, peatlands, machair, and Caledonian pine forest, of which plants are the foundation.
"Whether it's converting sunlight into energy for our food; offering shade and shelter; keeping our soils stable; managing our climate and water levels, or producing our natural resources such as timber, fibre and medicines, plants and lichens are the basis of a healthy natural world, but their decline since the 1970s means that Scotland's plant life is now in crisis.
"We must all rise to the challenge of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2030 and restoring it by 2045 through strong partnerships and direct action to help maintain and enhance Scotland's plants and lichens for us all now, and for future generations."
Read more
Professor Julia Knights, regius keeper at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said: "Biodiversity loss is a global challenge.
"It is also a national challenge including in Scotland.
"There are many causes, such as climate change, land management practices, pollution, and the impact of invasive species.
"Many plants are now threatened and exist in fragmented populations from which they are unable to expand naturally.
"We have much experience in protecting plant species through our Scottish Native Plants project, funded by the Nature Restoration Fund, which involves restoring populations of many threatened species, reversing past biodiversity losses.
"This new strategy for Scotland provides a clear framework for managing the complex but feasible challenge of protecting and restoring our precious natural habitats for future generations to enjoy."
Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs, said: "Plants are fundamental to our climate, economy and communities.
"With Scotland's flowering plant species in decline since 1970, we must continue to protect and restore the foundations of our natural world.
"The Scottish Plant Biodiversity Strategy sets out a clear, collaborative approach to safeguarding Scotland's plant life, with targeted actions that complement the Scottish Government's ambitions to restore and regenerate biodiversity across Scotland by 2045."