3The UK’s Important Plant Areas

IPAs in the UK What is an IPA? Driving effective management Practical action on the ground Engaging, celebrating, motivating... Bold, dynamic management What next?

Front cover Snowdonia IPA ©Lazortech/iStock

Inside cover Soay woodland ©Deborah Long/Plantlife

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Contents

4

IPAs in the UK

Map code IPA name1 Shetland IPA2 Mainland Orkney IPA3 North Coast of Scotland IPA4 Caithness & Sutherland

Peatlands IPA5 Ben More Assynt IPA6 Harris & Lewis IPA7 Uists IPA8 Sgurr Mor IPA9 Ben Wyvis IPA10 Dornoch Firth & Morrich More IPA11 Culbin Sands & Bar IPA12 Rosemarkie to Shandwick Coast IPA13 Black Wood of Rannoch IPA14 Moniack Gorge IPA15 Strathglass Complex IPA16 Southwest Skye IPA17 Rum IPA18 Coll & Tiree IPA19 Eigg IPA20 West Coast of Scotland IPA21 Ardmeanach IPA22 Colonsay IPA23 Mull Oakwoods IPA24 Isle of Lismore IPA25 Glen Coe & Mamores IPA26 Ben Nevis IPA27 Rannoch Moor IPA28 Ben Alder & Aonach Beag IPA29 Cairngorms IPA30 Breadalbanes Mountains IPA31 Den of Airlie IPA32 Milton Wood IPA33 Dunkeld-Blairgowrie Lochs IPA34 Crieff Woods IPA35 Flanders Moss IPA36 Loch Lomond Woods IPA37 Bankhead Moss IPA38 Isle of Cumbrae IPA39 Isle of Arran IPA40 Beinn Bheigier IPA41 Carsegowan Moss IPA42 Merrick Kells IPA43 Roslin Glen IPA44 Clearburn Loch IPA45 Lochs and Mires of the Ale

& Ettrick Waters IPA46 Southeast Scotland Basalt

Outcrops IPA47 River Tweed IPA48 Berwick-upon-Tweed Coast IPA49 Lindisfarne IPA50 Lordenshaw, Forest Burn IPA51 River Derwent & Bassenthwaite

Lake IPA52 Lake District IPA53 Moor House to Upper Teesdale IPA54 Duddon Dunes IPA55 Stocks Reservoir IPA56 Yorkshire Dales Limestone IPA57 Bolton Abbey Woods IPA

58 Arnecliff & Park Hole Woods IPA59 Sefton Coast IPA60 Alderley Edge IPA61 Cressbrook Dale IPA62 Midland Meres & Mosses IPA63 Brown Moss IPA64 Peterborough Brick Pits IPA65 Holme & Woodwalton Fens IPA66 Ouse Washes IPA67 Wicken Fen IPA68 Chippenham Fen IPA69 Breckland IPA70 North Norfolk Coast & The Wash IPA71 The Broads IPA72 Waveney & Little Ouse Valley

Fens IPA73 The Sandlings IPA74 Thames Estuary, Essex & Suffolk

Coast IPA75 Whiteness Gap IPA76 Sandwich Bay IPA77 Dungeness & Rye Coastal Plain IPA78 Ranscombe Farm IPA79 Epping Forest IPA80 Wealden Heaths & Greensand

Grassland IPA81 Lewes Downs IPA82 Amberley Wild Brooks

& Arun Valley IPA83 East Hampshire Hangers, North

Downs & South Downs IPA84 The Solent Coast IPA85 Isle of Wight Downs IPA86 The New Forest IPA87 Whiteparish IPA88 Porton Down IPA89 Longparish IPA90 Thames Basin Heaths IPA91 Burnham Beeches IPA92 The Chilterns IPA93 Oxford Meadows IPA94 The Cotswolds IPA95 Wye Valley IPA96 Savernake Forest IPA97 Salisbury Plain, Cranborne Chase

& Pewsey Downs IPA 98 Longleat Woods & Parks IPA99 Avon Gorge IPA100 Severn Estuary Shore IPA101 The Mendips IPA102 Somerset Levels IPA103 Fivehead Fields IPA104 Melbury Park IPA105 Dorset Heath & Studland Dunes IPA106 Dorset Coast: Isle of Portland

to Studland Cliffs IPA107 Chesil Beach & The Fleet IPA108 Torbay Limestones IPA109 Stokenham IPA110 South Devon Coast: Bolt Tail

to Start Point IPA111 Chudleigh Rocks IPA112 Dartmoor IPA

113 Wembury Point to Erme Estuary IPA

114 Plymouth Sound & Estuaries IPA115 Bodmin Moor Bryophyte Sites IPA116 Lanhydrock Park IPA117 Boconnoc Park IPA118 Polruan to Looe Cliffs IPA119 St. Austell Clay Pits IPA120 Mid Cornwall Moors IPA121 Porthmellin Head to Nare Head IPA122 Fal & Helford IPA123 The Lizard IPA124 Isles of Scilly IPA125 Land's End IPA126 St. Just Moors (Lower Bostraze

and Leswidden) IPA127 West Cornwall Bryophyte Sites IPA128 Godrevy Point to Cligga Head IPA129 Penhale Dunes IPA130 West Pentire Fields IPA131 Dunsland Park IPA132 North Cornwall & Devon Coastal

Woods IPA133 Lundy IPA134 Braunton Burrows IPA135 Arlington Park & Woods IPA136 Filleigh Park IPA137 Exmoor IPA138 River Wye IPA139 Cliffs of the Brecon Beacons

National Park IPA140 Kenfig IPA141 Gower IPA142 Dinefwr Deer Park IPA143 Pembrey Coast: Carmarthen Bay

& Estuaries IPA144 Carmarthen Bay Dunes IPA145 Pembrokeshire Limestone

Coast IPA146 Skomer, Skokholm

& Dale Peninsula IPA147 St. David's Heaths & Seacliffs IPA148 Mwnt Arable Fields IPA149 Waun Rhydd IPA150 Ceredigion Bogs IPA151 Cambrian Mountains

Woodlands IPA152 Cambrian Mountains Orefield IPA153 Welsh Marches Cliffs

& Steppe Grasslands IPA154 Cadair Idris IPA155 Meirionnydd Oakwoods IPA156 Lleyn Seacliffs IPA157 Snowdon IPA158 Great Orme's Head IPA159 Anglesey Fens IPA160 Anglesey Dunes IPA161 Northwest Anglesey

Heaths & Seacliffs IPA162 Strangford Lough IPA163 Garron Plateau IPA164 Clones-Roslea Area IPA165 Upper Lough Erne IPA

Confidential Welsh IPA (not mapped)

IPA map

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5The UK’s Important Plant Areas

IPA core

IPA zone of opportunity Areas into which key species or habitats could expand with supportive land management

6 What is an IPA?

Important Plant Areas have been identified by a partnership of 16 organisations, bringing together botanical expertise from across the UK

7% of the land area of the UK lies within an IPA

The UK has committed to protect and manage at least 75% of our IPAs effectively

What is an IPA?

1. The facilitation of this work is an important contribution towards EU Natura 2000 objectives and the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy

7The UK’s Important Plant Areas

Identifying and managing Important Plant Areas is a fundamental part of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, of which the UK is a signatory

There are 17 plants found on IPAs in the UK that grow nowhere else in the world

By working in partnership with communities, landowners, land managers and policy makers, we will celebrate, enjoy, manage and showcase these globally important places and the wild plants and habitats that make them so special

Formby Beach ©Gavin Wray CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

8 What is an IPA?

All IPAs have been identified using at least one of three internationally agreed criteria:

1. Significant populations of threatened wild plantsSpatulate fleawort, Northwest Anglesey Heaths & Seacliffs IPA

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99The UK’s Important Plant Areas

IPAs are typical of our landscape – they are patchworks of habitats and species and are rarely identified on the presence of one type of plant or habitat

3. An exceptionally high diversity of wild plants

2. Outstanding examples of one or more threatened habitats

Munsary peatlands, Caithness & Sutherland peatlands IPA

Atlantic woodlands, Meirionnydd Oakwoods IPA

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10 Driving effective management | Practical action on the ground

Breckland IPA, England

PartnershipPlantlife, Butterfly Conservation, Forestry Commission, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Natural England, Thetford Town Council, UEA, RSPB

Issue Managing protected sites to support their botanical interest

Solution Restoring wildlife sites from the plants up

The Breckland IPA of East Anglia is a unique landscape, famous for its dry heath habitats, formerly inland sand dunes. Unusually, they are home to communities of both lime and acid-loving plants, including many special species such as field wormwood (Artemisia campestris) and Breckland thyme (Thymus serpyllum). The special mosaic of habitats within the IPA packs in an incredible diversity of wildlife – 1,800 scarce or threatened species.

Although many of the remaining fragments of Breckland heath are notified as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), this has not ensured the survival of many of their characteristic species – such as Spanish catchfly (Silene otites), an endangered species reliant on swards kept open by irregular disturbance.

By focusing on the key interest features of the IPA, incorporating the right management to sustain its plant populations and working in effective partnerships, there can be a positive future for the Breckland’s unique wildlife.

Effective land management is the single most important factor in plant conservation

Below: At Cranwich Camp, a Forestry Commission site managed by Norfolk Wildlife Trust, over 3,000 Spanish catchfly have appeared on an area stripped of turf by Plantlife and Butterfly Conservation

Driving effective management

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The UK’s Important Plant Areas 11

Practical action on the ground

West Coast IPA, ScotlandPartnershipPlantlife, Forest Research

Issue Better targeted management

Solution Enabling land managers to conserve our important plants and wildlife

The west coast of Scotland is internationally important for its Atlantic woodlands and oceanic heathlands. Detailed habitat mapping within the IPA helps target better management advice and habitat restoration to help landowners, farmers and their advisers identify what they can do where.

The West Coast IPA has two main threats: the spread of invasive Rhododendron x superponticum in the woodlands and burning (muirburn) of the oceanic heaths. Better management advice can reduce these threats by protecting important areas.

Rhododendron affects many IPAs in western Britain and has spread along the entire west coast of Scotland. It takes over the understory of Atlantic woodlands, shading out internationally important communities of bryophytes and lichens, which have their world headquarters in Scotland.

Working with Forest Research, Plantlife has developed a toolkit, practical support and regular demonstration events on how best to remove Rhododendron, and how to manage this and other IPAs.

Above: Plantlife explains how to set up a simple programme to monitor sprayed Rhododendron at Jeanie’s Wood, Tarbert, Argyll

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12 Engaging, celebrating, motivating...

Engaging, celebrating, motivating...

Southwest Atlantic woodlands IPAs are of international importance for their lichen and bryophyte interest, but they are vulnerable to changes in woodland management, atmospheric pollution, invasive species and climate change.

There is a lack of general knowledge about lower plants which can inhibit land management decisions and limit the visitor experience to woodlands. Plantlife’s Make the Small Things Count project has been working in partnership to raise the profile of lichens and bryophytes among a varied target audience.

Land managers Training, identification guides, a habitat management toolkit and the opportunity to meet with colleagues have all improved the knowledge base and confidence of land managers to inform woodland management and to share knowledge.

Southwest Atlantic woodlands IPAs, EnglandPartnershipPlantlife, Dartmoor National Park Authority, Exmoor National Park Authority, Quantock Hills AONB, North Devon Coast AONB

Issue Lack of knowledge, awareness and understanding of charismatic but hard- to-identify lichens and bryophytes

Solution A learning and engagement programme that celebrates and develops interest in lower plants, and increases the number of people with identification skills and management knowledge

The UK’s Important Plant Areas 13

Volunteers Volunteer schemes and local volunteers have received public engagement training on lower plants and courses on lichen identification, enabling them to share knowledge with the general public.

Lichen apprentices have been trained by The British Lichen Society, and can now carry out surveys and contribute to local lichen records and woodland management planning.

Adults, families and schools Schools and families have been on ‘Botanical Adventures’ inspired by the project’s bespoke resources, which encourage learning about and exploration of woodlands. They have also been inspired by volunteers and project staff at open events on IPAs, and have attended arts workshops.

The wider community has gained enhanced knowledge, appreciation and understanding of the importance of the woodlands and their lichens and bryophytes, with over 40,000 people taking part in events. Attitudes have changed with many reporting that in spite of frequent visits to the project area, they had previously been unaware of the area’s significance.

Form Scallop-like plates closely attached to the substrate withlongitudinal ridges, concentric “growth” rings and blackish feltedmargins (the hypothallus).Colour Pale grey, sometimes tinged brown; darker when wet.Soredia/Isidia Numerous knobbly isidia on the surface andmargins, especially on the raised ridges where the lobe marginsmeet.Fruit Very rare; reddish.Underside Thick blackish or greyish velvety mat (hypothallus)visible at the edges of upturned lobe margins. Notes Similar to D. plumbea, but this is usually abundantly fertile,has no isidia.

Form Small lobes with finely scalloped margins.Colour Pale grey to blue-grey with paler margins, sometimes tinged brown and darker when wet. Soredia/Isidia Coarse grey soredia.Fruit Very rare.Underside Blackish or greyish velvety mat (hypothallus) notusually visible. Notes Similar to P. rubiginosa, but this is usually abundantlyfertile, has no soredia.

Degelia atlantica Felt lichen

wet wet

Pannaria conoplea Mealy-rimmed shingle lichen

3 IS THE LICHEN CRUSTY AND GRANULAR? (continued)

Form A thin membrane (sometimes barely visible) to finely granular.Colour Pale grey-green to grey.Soredia/Isidia None.Fruit Small (to 2mm), orange with a pale margin, looking like minuteapricot halves (especially when wet). Produced seasonally.Notes Mainly grows on mosses or bark in damp shaded situations.There are only two British species of Dimerella; the other has smallerwhite to pinkish fruits and rarely occurs on mosses.

Form Dense mass of very thin lobes that appear minutely frilly at the margins due to abundant isidia.Colour Dark brown when wet, grey to grey-brown when dry.Soredia/Isidia Abundant elongated cylindrical isidia on lobemargins.Fruit Rare; small red-brown disc.Underside Ridged.Notes Found among mosses on trees (especially ash) andsometimes on mossy rocks in old woodlands. Very similar to someother Leptogium species, eg L. pulvinatum (but that species hasflattened isidia).

2 DOES THE LICHEN HAVE TINY LEAFY LOBES?

Parmeliella triptophylla Black-bordered shingle lichen

Dimerella lutea Orange dimple lichen Leptogium lichenoides Tattered jelly-skin lichen

Form Intricate rosettes of thin overlapping lobes with isidia or lobules, or both.Colour Pale blue-grey when dry, dark grey to blackish when wet.Soredia/Isidia Cylindrical or flattened isidia or lobules abundant onlobe margins or surface.Fruit Very rare.Underside Smooth or slightly wrinkled.Notes When wet is similar to some other Leptogium species. If in doubt dry a specimen to see the distinctive colour of dry L. cyanescens.

Form A thin crust with numerous small, distinctive barnacle-like fruits.Colour Whitish to pale grey.Soredia/Isidia None.Fruit Abundant; like small barnacles.Notes Found on mature trees and shrubs in old woods includinghazel and rowan, and on smooth bark on mature ash and oak.

Form A fine granular dusting with distinctive fruits.Colour Green to grey-green, greener when wet.Soredia/Isidia None.Fruit Abundant; buff to pinkish-orange and globular, or pill-like. Notes Frequently found on or near the base of mature trees, oftenin more shaded conditions.

3 IS THE LICHEN CRUSTY AND GRANULAR? 4 DOES THE LICHEN LOOK JELLY LIKE WHEN WET?

Leptogium cyanescens Blue jelly-skin lichen

dry

Fruits and isidia on Lobaria pulmonaria

Lobules on Leptogium cyanescens

Soredia on Sticta limbata

Hypothallus on Degelia sp.

Rhizines on Peltigera sp.

Tomentum with cyphellae on Sticta sp.

Some key features to lookfor when identifying lichens

Use a hand lens (preferably x10magnification) to examine them.

Colour Of upper (and if visible, the lower)surface. The colour of a species can varyeg depending on whether it is wet or dry.

Cyphellae and pseudocyphellae Poresor cracks that expose the interior of thelichen, appearing as paler spots or lineson the surface.

Fruits Reproductive structures thatproduce spores. They can be round discs,pimple-like or globular, and their colouroften contrasts to the lichen surface.

Hypothallus A dark mat on the lowersurface, often only visible between lobesor at the margins. It may be thin andvisible only as a dark stain, but whenwell developed may be thicker andvelvet-like.

Isidia Tiny projections on the surfacethat may be nodular, granular, finger-like, or branched like tiny fragments ofcoral. They are a means of vegetativereproduction.

Lobe The rounded “leaf” of a leafy lichen.

Lobules Small “secondary” lobes thatdevelop on the margins or on the surfaceof lobes.

Rhizines Root-like structures, as foundon the underside of Peltigera species.These may be straight, forked orbranched.

Soredia Floury powder or coarsegranules that often occur along ridges orcracks on the surface, or on the lobemargins. They may be diffuse or arise indiscrete structures (termed soralia). Likeisidia, they are a means of vegetativereproduction.

Tomentum An even or patchy carpet ofshort hairs (usually brownish or pale) onthe underside as found in Sticta species. Lichens of Atlantic

Woodlands in the South WestGuide 1 The Lobarion lichens of ash, hazel, willow, rowan and old oak

Form Tiny lobes (squamules) on the black margins of a dense crust of isidia.Colour Blackish when wet to brown or grey-brown when dry.Soredia/Isidia Minute, thin and finger-like, often branched (best visiblewhen dry).Fruit Rare; small (to 1mm), red-brown.Underside Black hypothallus extending beyond the margins of the lobes.Notes Appears as a dark stain on the bark of trees (especially old ash).

PlantlifePlantlife is speaking up for England’s wildflowers, plants and fungi. From the open spacesof our nature reserves to the corridors ofWestminster, we’re here to raise their profile,celebrate their beauty and protect their future.

Wild flowers, plants and fungi play afundamental role for wildlife and their colourand character light up our landscapes. Butwithout our help this priceless natural heritageis in danger of being lost. Join us in enjoyingthe very best that nature has to offer.

Britain’s countryside.Save it with flowers.Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales.

Plantlife14 Rollestone Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 1DX01722 342730enquiries@plantlife.org.uk

www.plantlife.org.ukISBN: 978-1-910212-03-5© March 2014

Plantlife International – the Wild Plant Conservation is acharity charitable company limited by guarantee.Registered in England and Wales, charity no 1059559.Registered company no 3166339, registered in Englandand Wales.

This guide is based on text written for Plantlife Cymruand Plantlife Scotland by Andy Acton and Anna Griffith.

All photos © Acton/Griffith 2013 except: Nephromaparile © Ray Woods 2013, soredia on Sticta limbata ©Dave Lamacraft 2013, and Dimerella lutea © TimWilkins 2012.

The BritishLichen Society

Thelotrema lepadinum Barnacle lichen Mycobilimbia pilularis

Bold, dynamic management | What next?

Bold, dynamic management

Dynamic processes are fundamental to most natural ecosystems. Mapping IPAs and their zones of opportunity helps to identify the key areas to sustain the botanical interest of these sites.

Kenfig IPA is one of the best remaining sand dune systems in Britain, internationally important for its dune habitats, for its population of the endangered fen orchid (Liparis loeselii), and for its stonewort (Charophytes) algae that carpet the bottom of clear pools.

Like so many other sand dune systems, the dunes have stabilised and become overgrown with vegetation.

The solution, pioneered by a partnership between Plantlife, Natural Resources Wales and Bridgend County Borough Council, has been to undertake the largest dune-scape restoration project in Britain. By opening up large areas of sand previously smothered by vegetation, winds are able to move sand around again, re-mobilising the dune systems and allowing specialities such as petalwort (Petalophyllum ralfsii), sea stock (Matthiola sinuata) and fen orchid to find their place and thrive.

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Kenfig IPA, WalesPartnershipPlantlife, Natural Resources Wales, Bridgend County Borough Council

Issue Decline in natural processes that underpin healthy ecosystems

Solution Re-invigorating dynamic landscapes to improve nature’s resilience

Left: Fen orchid (Liparis loeselii ssp ovata) at Kenfig. Below: Dune re-mobilisation at Kenfig IPA

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What next?

The UK’s Important Plant Areas 15

Alastair Moralee alastair.moralee@plantlife.org.uk

England

Deborah Long deborah.long@plantlife.org.uk

Scotland

Colin Cheesman colin.cheesman@plantlife.org.uk

Wales

Like much of our countryside, IPAs are under pressure. Lack of management, fragmentation, invasive species, development and intensification all threaten these special places

If you own, manage or care for an IPA in the UK – and you would like to know more or work in partnership with us – please get in touch with:

For more information on the UK’s Important Plant Areas, please go to our website at www.plantlife.org.uk where you will find the complete database of UK IPAs

We are PlantlifeWild flowers, plants and fungi play a fundamental role for wildlife, and their colour and character light up our landscapes. But without our help, this priceless natural heritage is in danger of being lost.

Plantlife is the organisation that is speaking up for our wild flowers, plants and fungi. From the open spaces of our nature reserves to the corridors of government, we’re here to raise their profile, to celebrate their beauty and protect their future.

Join us in enjoying the very best that nature has to offer.

Britain’s countrysideSave it with flowers

Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales

Plantlife 14 Rollestone Street Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 1DX Tel: 01722 342730

Plantlife Scotland, Stirling Tel: 01786 478509

Plantlife Cymru, Cardiff Tel: 02920 376193 Email: enquiries@plantlife.org.uk

www.plantlife.org.uk

Plantlife International – the Wild Plant Conservation charity is a charitable company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales, company no. 3166339. Registered in England and Wales, charity no. 1059559. Registered in Scotland, charity no. SC038951.

ISBN: 978-1-910212-24-0 © Plantlife January 2016 designbyStudioAde.com