Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

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Plant Species
Ecological Flora of the British Isles
Sources of information on plant nutrient requirements
A web site prepared by the University of York, providing summary information
about ecological attributes of British plant species, including nutrient
requirements. Includes information from the Biological Flora of the British Isles
published papers and ‘PlantAtt’ information from CEH, plus links to the NBN
Gateway for species distribution maps. See www.ecoflora.co.uk.
C-S-R classification A classification system where a plant species is assigned a dominant
functional type, from three main types: competitor (C), stress-tolerator (S) or
ruderal (R). The three types broadly relate to the plant’s nutrient requirements.
Grime, J.P., Hodgson, J.G. & Hunt, R. 2007. Comparative Plant Ecology: A
Functional Approach to Common British Species. 2nd ed. Dalbeattie: Castle
Point Press/BSBI.
Water quality and wildlife Report presenting a summary of published data on the range of water quality
parameters that species/groups of species can tolerate, including animals and
plants. Covers water quality indicators such as BOD and heavy metals along
with values for nutrients and pH. Jeffries, M. 1988. Water Quality and Wildlife.
A Review of Published Data. Unpublished report to the Nature Conservancy
Council, Contract HF 3 03 370.
Plant Communities
NVC Each fen community type has a habitat description summarising general
information about typical nutrient status and hydrological range. Rodwell, J.S.
1995. British Plant Communities. Volume 2 Mires and Heaths and Volume 4.
Aquatic Communities, Swamps and Tall Herb Fens. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Ecohydrological Guidelines
for Lowland Wetland Plant
Communities
Report presenting the hydrological and nutrient regimes of selected fen and
bog community types (M4, M5, M9, M10,M13, M14, M18, M21, M22, M24,
M29, S1, S2, S24 and S27). Wheeler et al. 2004 – see also 2010 update.
Periodic assessments of vegetation through monitoring relocatable plots and/
or by assessing changes in the abundance of key nutrient-responsive species
can provide information on how plant communities are responding to enrichment.
Further guidance on vegetation monitoring is given in Section 10: Monitoring to
Inform Fen Management.
Some responses can be quite subtle and require an understanding of the
differences in plant species within fen communities, and their water and nutrient
requirements, rather than more easily observable changes such as the invasion or
expansion of negative indicator species. For example, increased nitrogen availability
can lead to an increase in the dominance of tall herbs and grass-like species and
the loss of smaller and more characteristic plants, such as Sphagnum species and
the brown moss assemblages of rich-fens. This might only be detected by detailed
quadrat data collection that enables increased cover of herbs, grasses and/or
sedges to be identified. A general ‘eye-balling’ of the fen habitat would not be likely
to detect these changes, as many fen habitat types are dominated by a range of
herbs, grasses and sedges.
Assigning the nutrient value of Ellenberg’s indicator values for British Plants (which
provide a measure of the ecological optimum for various environmental variables
for individual plant species) to plant species survey data can give an indication of
whether the site or stands of vegetation within it are enriched. A summary of how
this technique can be applied is provided by Environment Agency (2009).