There’s a major new BSBI publication in the
offing. Grassland plants of the British and Irish lowlands: ecology, threats and management will be published this autumn and BSBI members are able to
benefit from an exclusive offer which will save them £10 compared with the RRP
of £35.
There are six authors behind the new book:
Pete Stroh and Kevin Walker from BSBI; Stuart Smith from Natural Resources Wales (NRW); Richard Jefferson and Clare Pinches from Natural England; and Tim
Blackstock, ex-NRW and now honorary lecturer at Bangor University. I spoke to
lead author Pete Stroh and asked him to tell us a bit more about ‘Grassland
plants’.
LM: Pete, the new book is just over 400
pages long and covers 109 species considered to be of greatest conservation
concern in the lowlands. How long have you and colleagues been working on the
book and how did you select which plants to look at?
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| Globeflower Image: Bob Gibbons |
PS: Well, it all began long before I was
working for the BSBI, so it’s at least seven years in the making. The original
team, which included Stuart, Kevin, Richard and Tim, but also Carrie Rimes
(NRW) and Chris Preston (ex-Centre for Ecology & Hydrology), got the ball rolling about 10 years ago, following
the publication of the GB Red List. The Red List was able to compare two Atlas
periods, and one of the main findings to come out of the analyses was the
number of ‘widespread decliners’ - species that we imagined were doing OK, but
actually were not faring at all well, such as Field Gentian.
Many of these widespread decliners are featured in the Grassland plants book, and we also included some that were assessed as being of ‘Least Concern’ in the Red List, such as Moonwort or Bog Pimpernel, because they were known to have undergone considerable declines in the lowland parts of their range. Although lots is known about conservation management and restoration of lowland grassland in Britain, there isn’t much published information on the management requirements of individual grassland species.
The main objective of this book was to assemble in one place all the relevant grey and peer-reviewed literature for our most threatened lowland grassland species so that they might be conserved more effectively in the future. I must also mention that although there are six authors, BSBI members indirectly contributed massively via the plant records they have sent in over the years, and many County Recorders and BSBI expert plant referees either co-authored or made a valuable contribution to individual accounts.
Many of these widespread decliners are featured in the Grassland plants book, and we also included some that were assessed as being of ‘Least Concern’ in the Red List, such as Moonwort or Bog Pimpernel, because they were known to have undergone considerable declines in the lowland parts of their range. Although lots is known about conservation management and restoration of lowland grassland in Britain, there isn’t much published information on the management requirements of individual grassland species.
The main objective of this book was to assemble in one place all the relevant grey and peer-reviewed literature for our most threatened lowland grassland species so that they might be conserved more effectively in the future. I must also mention that although there are six authors, BSBI members indirectly contributed massively via the plant records they have sent in over the years, and many County Recorders and BSBI expert plant referees either co-authored or made a valuable contribution to individual accounts.
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| Miltary orchid Image: Leif Bersweden |
LM: Each species account gives a huge
amount of detail: identification, typical habitat, biogeography, ecology, known
and potential threats, and management requirements, all illustrated with colour
images and BSBI distribution maps. Could you give us an example of one of the
plants you focus on and what we might learn about it from reading the book?
PS: Gosh, that’s a difficult one! I’m not
sure I can pick just one. The species we write about are so varied – orchids, sedges,
cat’s-ears, cudweeds, etc.! I hope that many will find the tips for
differentiating similar-looking species useful. They combine loads of different
sources, as well as tapping in to personal experience.
The sections on ecology were probably the most challenging to write, as we’ve tried to incorporate all that is known about a species using grey and peer-reviewed literature, meaning you should not have to trawl through loads of reference books and obscure journals in order to know its most important pollinators, or the longevity of seed in the soil, if it’s a larval foodplant for any rare invertebrates, or how it is dispersed.
You can learn about where a species grows, what it grows with, and most importantly, we feel, read tips on how to ensure that it persists and thrives at a site.
The sections on ecology were probably the most challenging to write, as we’ve tried to incorporate all that is known about a species using grey and peer-reviewed literature, meaning you should not have to trawl through loads of reference books and obscure journals in order to know its most important pollinators, or the longevity of seed in the soil, if it’s a larval foodplant for any rare invertebrates, or how it is dispersed.
You can learn about where a species grows, what it grows with, and most importantly, we feel, read tips on how to ensure that it persists and thrives at a site.
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| Mountain pansy Image: Laurie Campbell |
LM: It sounds as though the book will be
extremely useful to a wide range of people, from land managers to professional
ecologists and consultants, to anybody with an interest in, or responsibility
for, the care and conservation of our wild flowers.
PS: Yes, I hope so! I see it as a reference
book that will actually be useful and read! It condenses a huge amount of
information into what are essentially over 100 ‘mini biological floras’ which
are, I hope, readable and practical, and are as much use to someone who has one
or more of the plants on their land and wants to know more about them, to an
academic, to a restoration ecologist. There’s something there for everyone!
LM: I see that there is a foreword by
George Peterken – can you give us a taste of what he says?
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| Bog pimpernel Image: Pete Stroh |
PS: Well, as many will know, George is a
bit of a legend in the conservation world, known originally for his work on
woodland ecology, but he’s also an expert on meadows too, and many other things
beside. So it was great for him to agree to write the foreword.
It’s kind of difficult to distil what he says into a few sentences, but in essence, he makes the point that although it appears to be superficially simple to create a floriferous meadow, in many cases ancient grassland is as impossible to recreate as ancient woodland, and so keeping and maintaining existing herb-rich grasslands should be the priority, especially because that is where many of the species described in the book will survive best.
He also makes the important point that if someone wants to try and create new grassland, that the best place for this is next to old grassland, and crucially, I think, that planning woodland and grassland habitat restoration together enables some of the natural interactions between the habitats we see as separate, but which would naturally be more connected. I quoted that last bit – much too eloquent and thoughtful for me.
It’s kind of difficult to distil what he says into a few sentences, but in essence, he makes the point that although it appears to be superficially simple to create a floriferous meadow, in many cases ancient grassland is as impossible to recreate as ancient woodland, and so keeping and maintaining existing herb-rich grasslands should be the priority, especially because that is where many of the species described in the book will survive best.
He also makes the important point that if someone wants to try and create new grassland, that the best place for this is next to old grassland, and crucially, I think, that planning woodland and grassland habitat restoration together enables some of the natural interactions between the habitats we see as separate, but which would naturally be more connected. I quoted that last bit – much too eloquent and thoughtful for me.
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| Wood crane's-bill Image: Stuart Smith |
LM: You're too modest! The BSBI Science Team – working with
colleagues in other organisations - is building up a superb portfolio of publications.
The England Red List, on which you were lead author, is a popular title available for sale from Summerfield Books and the pdf showing statuses of the plants on the list is always among the Top Ten most popular free downloads from the BSBI website. It opened our eyes to the fact that some of
the wild flowers that used to be common across the English lowlands – such as
harebells, wild strawberries and common rock-rose – are now categorised as Near
Threatened.
Then in 2017 there was the Threatened Plants book – here’s
the interview we did with lead author Kevin Walker. And that’s before we
say anything about your input into our plant distribution Atlases, or the many
scientific papers which bear your and Kevin’s names – some examples here
and here.
You guys are incredibly prolific!
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| Lizard orchid Image: Sarah Lambert |
PS: We
try our best to use the plant records that BSBI members provide in order to make
a difference, and to ensure that the results of our findings are as accessible
as possible for others to use. What we do is part of a collective effort, and it’s
incredible really just how much our Society achieves – we certainly punch above
our weight, and really that’s down to the County Recorders, expert plant referees
and the hundreds (thousands?) of BSBI members who go out recording. It’s also a tribute to
David Pearman, who initiated the Science Team over 10 years ago.
I must also mention BSBI Database Officer Tom Humphrey, who does so much behind the scenes and is the rock upon which our outputs are based, and thank the organisations who sponsored the writing and publication of this book. Natural Resources Wales were incredibly generous, as were the National Trust, and we also received support from Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Wild Flower Society, Floodplain Meadows Partnership, Plantlife and Butterfly Conservation.
I must also mention BSBI Database Officer Tom Humphrey, who does so much behind the scenes and is the rock upon which our outputs are based, and thank the organisations who sponsored the writing and publication of this book. Natural Resources Wales were incredibly generous, as were the National Trust, and we also received support from Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Wild Flower Society, Floodplain Meadows Partnership, Plantlife and Butterfly Conservation.
LM: Yes, many thanks to all those organisations for their generosity. Pete, thank you very much for talking
to us about the forthcoming Grassland plants book. We’d like to congratulate
you and all your fellow co-authors for the years of hard work that have gone into this new
title. Can’t wait to see the book once it’s published!
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| Sticky catchfly Image: Bob Gibbons |
The dedicated webpage for the Grassland
plants book is here and it will be available to buy at the RRP
of £35 + P&P from Summerfield Books and other natural history
book-sellers as of 1st December but BSBI members can save money by taking
advantage of this exclusive offer: click here to
land on the members-only area of the BSBI website (you'll need to have your
password to hand) and you will save £10 on the cost of the Grassland plantsbook.
If you haven't yet joined BSBI, you won’t
be able to benefit from this special offer, so why not check out this page? It lists all the benefits
of BSBI membership and there's a secure payment option, making it very quick
and easy for you to become a BSBI member and start getting involved.
October really is the ideal month in which
to join BSBI if you haven't already! The special offer on the Grassland plants
book runs until the end of November and of course if you join BSBI after 1st
October, you get three "free" months and then your subscription
starts in January and runs until the end of 2019. This week we are telling you about the other BSBI titles due for publication this autumn such as the new Gentians Handbook and about the savings on offer to BSBI members. Watch this space!
