Plant Diversity Challenge - Plantlife

Plant Diversity ChallengeThe importance of plants and fungi in the UKThe range and diversity of habitats across the United Kingdom are home to a widevariety of plant and fungus species (see Table). From the blanket bogs of the FlowCountry to the Serpentine flora of the Lizard, from the famous fritillary meadows ofthe Thames and East Anglia to the Atlantic oak woods of western Britain; and fromimportant fungus areas such as Epping Forest in Essex and Cloughey Dunes inCounty Down, the UK public are seldom far from our fascinating flora. It is a flora,however, that has been heavily influenced by humans.The diversity of fungi and wild plants in the UKGROUP NUMBER OF NATIVE SPECIESAlgae (including stoneworts) c.15,000Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) c.1,000Fungi (including slime moulds) c.12,000Lichens c.1,700Vascular plants (seed plants and ferns) c.2,300When humans arrived in the UK 10,000 years ago, the tundra was still in the processof retreating and the habitats and flora present were very different to those we areused to now. Fairly soon, humans started small-scale grazing and cultivation of landfor growing vegetables and crops. Some species flourished under this new regime,while others struggled to survive. However, in the last 150 years or so, the changingagricultural practices and other land uses have had a dramatic impact on our wildplants. Now nearly 70% of the UK’s land area is actively managed for forestry andagriculture.The challenge is for plants and humans to co-exist in harmony. Ourhistoric interest in gardening and trade in crops amongst other things have led toover 1,000 non-native vascular plant species being introduced and becomingestablished in the UK.PETER WILSON/NATURAL IMAGEPlants provide for all of our needs; fromshelter, as seen here in Dorset, to food,medicine, and clothing.The UK has few endemic species but it is particularly important in an internationalcontext for bryophytes and lichens. About 65% of the known European bryophyteflora occurs in the UK which has a unique blend of northern Atlantic, Mediterraneanand Lusitanian elements.We also hold internationally important plant assemblagessuch as oceanic western and Atlantic alpine communities, and have a responsibility forspecies for which we have a large proportion of the world’s population. For example,between 25-49% of the world’s bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta population is foundin the UK. Furthermore, a number of our flowering plants are growing at the edge oftheir range, some recognised as endemic subspecies. Finally, the UK’s position at thejunction of cold and warm temperate latitudes means that our coastal waters arerich in algal species and two thirds of the UK’s seaweeds are endemic to the Atlanticcoastline.The cultural and ecological interest in the UK flora therefore compensates for therelatively low species number when compared with other European countries.10