Scandix pecten-veneris Dandy

Shepherd’s Needle APIACEAE

Status Nationally Scarce UK BAP Priority Species since 1998 166 10-km-squares post 1987 Lead partner: Plantlife

UK Biodiversity Action Plan The following are the current targets following the 2001 Targets Review: T1 - Maintain the range of shepherd’s needle in the UK. T2 - Enhance the total population size of shepherd’s needle in the UK. T3 - Achieve the natural colonisation of new sites. T4 - Establish and ex-situ programme to protect genetic diversity, create a reserve

population and provide experimental material. Progress on targets as reported in the UKBAP 2002 reporting round can be viewed by selecting this species and logging in as a guest on the following web site: http://www.ukbap.org.uk/ The full Action Plan for Scandix pecten-veneris can be viewed on the following web site: http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=561

Contents 1 Morphology, Identification, Taxonomy & Genetics.................................................... 2

1.1 Morphology & Identification.......................................................................... 2 1.2 Taxonomic Considerations............................................................................ 3 1.3 Genetic implications .................................................................................... 3

2 Distribution & Current Status ............................................................................... 4 2.1 World........................................................................................................ 4 2.2 Europe ...................................................................................................... 4

Work on Scandix pecten-veneris is supported by:

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2.3 United Kingdom.......................................................................................... 42.3.1 England ................................................................................................. 6 2.3.2 Northern Ireland...................................................................................... 7 2.3.3 Scotland................................................................................................. 7 2.3.4 Wales .................................................................................................... 8 2.3.5 Ireland................................................................................................... 8 2.3.6 Channel Islands....................................................................................... 8

3 Ecology & Life Cycle............................................................................................ 9 4 Habitat Requirements ....................................................................................... 10

4.1 The Landscape Perspective......................................................................... 10 4.2 Communities & Vegetation ......................................................................... 10 4.3 Summary of Habitat Requirements .............................................................. 11

5 Management Implications .................................................................................. 12 6 Threats / Factors leading to loss or decline or limiting recovery ............................... 12 7 Current Conservation Measures .......................................................................... 13

7.1 In-Situ Measures ...................................................................................... 13 7.2 Ex-Situ Measures...................................................................................... 14 7.3 Research Data.......................................................................................... 14 7.4 Monitoring Scandix pecten-veneris and the Common Monitoring Standard......... 14

8 References ...................................................................................................... 14 9 Contacts ......................................................................................................... 16 10 Links .......................................................................................................... 16 11 Acknowledgments ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1 Morphology, Identification, Taxonomy & Genetics

1.1 MORPHOLOGY & IDENTIFICATION Scandix pecten-veneris (Figures 1 & 2) is an annual herb with erect, occasionally-branching stems up to 60cm tall, but more normally between 15-50 cm. These are glabrous and hollow when old. The leaves are triangular in outline and 2-3 pinnate with narrow, parallel-sided segments. The overall colour of the plant is bright green before the fruit begins to ripen.

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Figure 1 – Scandix pecten-veneris (Image © Bob Gibbons).

Figure 2 – Scandix pecten-veneris from above (Image © Bob Gibbons).

The flowers are borne in umbels with 1-4 rays. Each ray has a ring of characteristically deeply bifid basal bracteoles and between four and twelve flowers. The small flowers are zygomorphic with white petals. The fruit attains its characteristic form shortly after flowering begins. Each flower produces a fruit consisting of two seeds which remain joined until ripe. Each seed has a long scabrid needle-like appendage up to 6cm in length, which acts as a spring dispersal mechanism as the seed ripens. The combination of the distinctive bracts and fruits make this species difficult to confuse with any other species of the Apiaceae (Clapham et al, 1987; Wilson & King, 2003).

1.2 TAXONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS None.

1.3 GENETIC IMPLICATIONS No studies on genetic diversity within this species have been carried out. Such a study would be desirable to elucidate relationships between populations.

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2 Distribution & Current Status

2.1 WORLD

Figure 3 – World Distribution Map of Scandix pecten-veneris.

2.2 EUROPE

2.3 UNITED KINGDOM Overview Scandix pecten-veneris (see Figure 4) was formerly distributed throughout England, with the majority of records concentrated in the south and east. There are fewer records from Scotland and Wales. Until the mid-20th Century it was regarded as a serious agricultural problem (Brenchley, 1920; Salisbury, 1961) and was still included in pesticide use recommendations in the 1950s (Flint, 1987). The numerous local names listed for this species by Brenchley (1920) attest to its former abundance. Before 1970 it had been recorded as a native or archaeophyte from 641 10km-squares in the British Isles, while between 1987 and 1999 it was recorded from 166 10km-squares (Preston et al, 2002). There are some discrepancies between the data used by Preston et al (2002) and those held

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by the Threatened Plants Database (TPDB). TPDB data suggests that there are only 97 10km-square records for S. pecten-veneris between 1987 and 2000. It is likely that the true picture lies between the two, both describing the same overall situation. The number of sites at which this species is regularly present is unknown. While there has been a serious decline of this species throughout much of its range, many populations have appeared in eastern England since the mid-1980s. As with many annual species, however, caution must be observed in the interpretation of these figures, as this is a species with a history of erratic appearance at many localities. The change index (Preston et al, 2002) is -3.65, the tenth greatest negative change of any species. In terms of 10km-squares, the current area occupied by this species is only 26% of its total historic area, with most of the remaining sites poorly known. It was included in the list of Nationally Scarce Species (Stewart et al, 1994). Atlas data (Preston et al, 2002) suggests that it cannot now be considered as Nationally Scarce, as the number of 10km-squares now exceeds 100, but TPDB data maintains its Nationally Scarce status. Clarification of this status is needed. It is included on the priority list of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK Biodiversity Steering Group, 1995).

Figure 4 – UK distribution of Scandix pecten-veneris.

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2.3.1 ENGLAND (based on English Nature’s Natural Areas) The historic distribution of S. pecten-veneris covers the whole of England, although records become sparser to the north and west of a line from The Wash to The Severn Estuary. The only vice-counties from which it never appears to have been recorded are Cheviot and Northumberland. Although there is some association with calcareous soils, particularly the boulder clay of East Anglia, it is by no means confined to these strata (Preston et al, 2002). The current distribution reflects the historic situation, although there has been a marked loss of sites from the core of the range. The majority of records are now from calcareous boulder clay in the intensive cereal-growing areas of the East Anglian Plain (Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Essex), with other records from similar soils westwards to The Cotswolds and Bristol, The Avon Valley and Ridges. The heavy soils on the Lias strata of the Mid-Somerset Hills also have several sites. Plus, there are scattered sites on calcareous soils elsewhere in southern England and on clays further north. It is also thought to still occur in bulbfields in the Scillies. There are also a handful of sites on scree slopes and sea walls near the coast in southern England. Table 2 - Present & former distribution of S. pecten-veneris in England by vice-county.

V-C NO.

VICE-COUNTY EXTANT

SITES

(1990+)

EXTINCT

SITES %

DECLINE DATE & PLACE(S) OF LAST RECORD

1 W Cornwall 1 4 80 2003 Porth Joke 2 E Cornwall 0 1 100 1886 Morwenstow 3 S Devon 1 12 92 1991 4 N Devon 0 7 100 1970 Braunton 5 S Somerset 3 8 73 2001 Fivehead 6 N Somerset 0 13 100 1956 7 S Wiltshire 1 18 95 2000 Ludgershall 8 N Wiltshire 1 14 93 1994 Easton Down 9 Dorset 0 24 100 1984 Portland 10 Isle of Wight 0 6 100 1963 Havenstreet 11 South Hampshire 0 11 100 1981 Barton Common 12 North Hampshire 2 17 89 1994 Basingstoke 13 West Sussex 2 15 88 1991 14 East Sussex 0 15 100 1990 15 East Kent 0 22 100 1998 Deal 16 West Kent 1 11 92 1995 Dean Bottom 17 Surrey 1 18 95 1994 18 South Essex 0 9 100 1977 19 North Essex 6 28 82 1998 Little Wratting 20 Hertfordshire 3 24 89 1999 Ashridge Common 21 Middlesex 0 7 100 1945 22 Berkshire 1 15 94 1991 23 Oxfordshire 2 27 93 1999 Wallingford 24 Buckinghamshire 0 14 100 1987 Ivinghoe Aston 25 East Suffolk 9 23 72 1998 Letheringham 26 West Suffolk 7 12 63 1997 Chilton 27 East Norfolk 2 13 87 1998 Weybread 28 West Norfolk 2 5 71 1992 29 Cambridgeshire 10 24 71 1999 Little Gransden 30 Bedfordshire 2 15 88 1997 Renhold

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V-C NO.

VICE-COUNTY EXTANT

SITES

(1990+)

EXTINCT

SITES %

DECLINE DATE & PLACE(S) OF LAST RECORD

31 Huntingdonshire 0 4 100 1983 32 Northamptonshire 2 11 85 2001 Wymington 33 E Gloucestershire 6 14 70 1998 Ampney Crucis 34 WGloucestershire 0 7 100 1984 36 Herefordshire 0 6 100 1977 37 Worcestershire 1 7 88 1991 38 Warwickshire 3 22 88 2001 Upper Boddington 39 Staffordshire 0 6 100 1966 Newcastle u-Lyme 40 Shropshire 1 7 88 1994 Wentnor 53 South Lincolnshire 0 22 100 1984 54 North Lincolnshire 1 29 97 1992 55 Leicestershire 0 12 100 1973 Groby 56 Nottinghamshire 1 17 94 1991 57 Derbyshire 0 11 100 1950 58 Cheshire 0 6 100 1899 59&60 Lancashire 0 5 100 1907 61 SE Yorkshire 2 21 91 1995 62 NE Yorkshire 0 19 100 1965 63 SW Yorkshire 0 6 100 1954 64 Mid-W Yorkshire 0 4 100 1950 65 NW Yorkshire 0 3 100 1956 66 Durham 0 9 100 1957 69 Westmorland 0 2 100 1909 Windermere 70 Cumberland 0 8 100 1950 71 Isle of Man 0 2 100 1976

2.3.2 NORTHERN IRELAND There are 25 10km-square records for S. pecten-veneris from Northern Ireland. There are no recent records.

2.3.3 SCOTLAND There are 47 10km-square records for S. pecten-veneris from Scotland. There are no recent records. Table 3 - Present & former distribution of S. pecten-veneris in Scotland by vice-county.

V-C NO.

VICE-COUNTY EXTANT

SITES

(1990+)

EXTINCT

SITES %

DECLINE DATE & PLACE(S) OF

LAST RECORD

72 Dumfriesshire 0 3 100 1896 Auldgirth, Moffat 75 Ayrshire 0 4 100 1950 76 Renfrewshire 0 1 100 1899 Cardross 77 Lanarkshire 0 2 100 1865 Chryston 79 Selkirkshire 0 1 100 1931 Symington 80 Roxburghshire 0 1 100 1902 Lauder 81 Berwickshire 0 3 100 1960 Ross 82 E Lothian 0 1 100 1927 Dirleton 83 Midlothian 0 4 100 1934 Kirkliston

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V-C NO.

VICE-COUNTY EXTANT

SITES

(1990+)

EXTINCT

SITES %

DECLINE DATE & PLACE(S) OF

LAST RECORD

84 W Lothian 0 2 100 1934 Linlithgow 85 Fife 0 3 100 1960 Kirkcaldy 89 E Perth 0 3 100 1898 Carse of Gowrie 90 Angus 0 1 100 ? 91 Kincardineshire 0 2 100 1860 Inverbervie 93 N Aberdeen 0 1 100 1860 St Fergus 94 Banffshire 0 3 100 1912 95 Morayshire 0 2 100 1950 96 Easterness 0 1 100 1962 101 Kintyre 0 1 100 1899 105 W Ross 0 2 100 1929 108 W Sutherland 0 1 100 1866 Melvich 111 Orkney 0 5 100 1916

2.3.4 WALES There are 21 10km-square records for S. pecten-veneris from Wales. There are only two current sites, one of which is in a garden. Table 4 - Present & former distribution of S. pecten-veneris in England by vice-county.

V-C NO.

VICE-COUNTY EXTANT

SITES

(1990+)

EXTINCT

SITES %

DECLINE DATE & PLACE(S) OF LAST

RECORD

35 Monmouthshire 0 1 100 1929 41 Glamorgan 2 6 75 2004 Mumbles 42 Breconshire 0 1 100 1905 Llandovery 45 Pembrokeshire 0 1 100 1950 46 Cardiganshire 0 1 100 1930 Aberporth 47 Montgomeryshire 0 2 100 1932 Adfa 49 Caernarvonshire 0 2 100 1879 Great Orme 50 Denbighshire 0 1 100 1950 51 Flintshire 0 5 100 1908 Cwm, Nercwys 52 Anglesey 0 1 100 1950

2.3.5 IRELAND There are 25 10km-square records for S. pecten-veneris from Northern Ireland and 66 from The Republic of Ireland. There are no recent records.

2.3.6 CHANNEL ISLANDS There are two 10km-square records for S. pecten-veneris from the Channel Islands. There are no recent records.

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3 Ecology & Life Cycle Scandix pecten-veneris is an annual. Seedlings germinate mainly in autumn and early winter (Brenchley & Warington, 1936; Wilson, 1990), although a few seedlings germinate in the spring following spring cultivations. It would appear, therefore, that germination can occur when the seeds are shed from the parent plant, with seeds becoming dormant again during the winter so that they cannot germinate in the spring. However, the majority of germination occurs in the year after seed production and the seed is thought to be short-lived. In an experimental study of germination periodicity, few seeds germinated after the first year (Wilson, 1990) and, in observations of germination from seed-bank samples collected from the Broadbalk field at the Rothamsted Research Station, only 1.56% of seed remained after 3 years (Brenchley & Warington, 1936). The longest period of dormancy recorded by Brenchley and Warington was five years. The seed-bank corresponds to Thompson & Grime’s (1978) Type III; persistent, germinating largely in the autumn with a small seed reserve. Where an attempt was made to store seed buried in the soil, much of the seed germinated underground (Wilson, 1990). The majority of arable annuals that have declined most in recent years are autumn and winter germinating, those with short-lived seeds being most vulnerable to changes on farming practice (Wilson, 1990). The introduction of two years of a late-spring sown root crop was considered an effective means of controlling S. pecten-veneris in arable systems in the early 20th Century (Brenchley, 1920). The seed of S. pecten-veneris is dispersed on ripening by the accumulation of energy in the seed appendages as they dry, causing them to act as a spring which, when the energy is released, throws the seeds up to 1m from the parent plant. The seed appendages are also rough, helping them to stick to clothing and animal fur. If the seeds are harvested along with the crop, the appendages can break, leaving a seed of a very similar size to the cereal grain and which, until the introduction of effective seed-cleaning in the early 20th Century, was consequently difficult to separate from the re-sown grain. Seed contamination may have been an important means of dispersal in the past. The decline of several species, including Agrostemma githago and Centaurea cyanus in the early 20th Century, have been attributed to improved seed-cleaning (Salisbury, 1961). After germination, the seedlings form an over-wintering rosette. Flowering begins in mid-May and is largely finished by the end of June. Most seed is ripe by early July before most crops are harvested. Relatively few seeds are produced, even by the largest plants. In terms of established strategy (Grime et al, 1988), S. pecten-veneris is probably best classified as a competitive ruderal. Under suitable conditions, on heavy calcareous soils where winter wheat is grown, it can take advantage of the supplied nitrogen, growing to a considerable size beneath the crop canopy, producing abundant seed and forming large populations. In a study of the response of a range of uncommon arable species, however, numbers of S. pecten-veneris plants in a winter wheat crop were significantly reduced by nitrogen application (Wilson, 1999). Nothing is known about mycorrhizal associates. One of the major changes in agricultural practice since the mid-20th Century has been the widespread introduction of herbicides for weed control in arable crops. S. pecten-veneris is susceptible to many of the earliest developed compounds including MCPA and Mecoprop (Woodford & Evans, 1963). S. pecten-veneris was susceptible to all of the chemicals tested in a trial carried out in 1989 (Wilson, 1990). The decline of this species at Broadbalk in the late 1950s is attributable to the introduction of herbicides in 1957 (Thurston, 1968).

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Numbers of seeds per m2 of soil surface declined from 312 in 1945, to 0 in 1987 (Wilson, 1990). It is likely that the introduction of herbicides has been a major factor in the decline of this species.

4 Habitat Requirements

4.1 THE LANDSCAPE PERSPECTIVE S. pecten-veneris is an arable field species. It is typically found in fields sown with winter cereals. The majority of sites where it now occurs are on heavy calcareous clays, particularly on the boulder clay of East Anglia. In the past it occurred on all soil types (Brenchley, 1920). In the intensively farmed lowlands of north-west Europe, the margins of the cultivated area of arable fields are generally the areas where the highest diversity of species are found and where populations of uncommon species find refugia (Wilson & Aebischer, 1994; van Elsen & Scheller, 1994).

4.2 COMMUNITIES & VEGETATION Twenty-five fields, with vegetation including Scandix pecten-veneris, were surveyed as part of research into the ecology of this species (Wilson, 1990). Of these, 15 had relatively species-poor vegetation, typical of intensively farmed winter cereals on clay soils in central England (OV8; Veronica persica-Alopecurus myosuroides community; Rodwell, 2000). These stands were characterised by constant and abundant Veronica persica, Alopecurus myosuroides, Galium aparine, Convolvulus arvensis, Myosotis arvensis, Polygonum aviculare, Anagallis arvensis, Cirsium arvense, Avena fatua and Geranium dissectum. Other frequent associates included Stellaria media, Tripleurospermum inodorum, Fallopia convolvulus, Bromus sterilis and Elymus repens. This impoverished vegetation may have been derived from more species-rich stands by several decades of continuous intensive growing of winter wheat, winter barley and oil-seed rape with high levels of application of herbicides and fertilisers. S. pecten-veneris is still known to occur in at least four sites on heavy clay soils where farming practices have been much less intensive (these include the Broadbalk field at the Rothamsted Research Station and the Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Fivehead Arable Fields Reserve). These have a much more species-rich flora approaching OV15b (Anagallis arvensis-Veronica persica community, Legousia hybrida-Chaenorhinum minus sub-community; Rodwell, 2000). They are characterised by the presence of a number of species that have declined in recent years including the UKBAP Priority List species Torilis arvensis, and Valerianella rimosa, with other uncommon species such as Ranunculus arvensis at all four sites, Euphorbia platyphyllos, Lithospermum arvense and Valerianella dentata. This type of community may once have been widespread across central England on heavier soils. S. pecten-veneris has also been found in a few species-rich arable fields on other soil types. In Suffolk and Oxfordshire it has been recorded in OV3 (Papaver rhoeas-Viola arvensis community; Rodwell, 2000), the typical community of extensively farmed arable fields on sands in the east of England. In two sites, the UKBAP priority listed Centaurea cyanus is also present, along with other uncommon species including Apera interrupta, Papaver argemone and Lepidium campestre. In Hampshire, S. pecten-veneris has been recorded in two of the richest arable fields described from the chalk of central-southern England, in OV15b with other uncommon species including Torilis arvensis, Galeopsis angustifolium, Fumaria parviflora, Lithospermum arvense, Valerianella dentata and Papaver hybridum. In

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Rodwell (2000), S. pecten-veneris is considered a differential species of OV15b, but it is in fact very uncommon in this community. There are at least three sites where S. pecten-veneris grows in non-arable situations. At Polly Joke in North Cornwall it grows on a slate hedge bank, enriched by calcareous wind-blown sand, in a very open W22 Prunus spinosa scrub pruned by the wind to a height of a few cm with other locally uncommon species including Scrophularia scorodonia and Salvia horminioides. In summary, S. pecten-veneris is largely to be found in two situations: in relics of the species-rich arable vegetation that would once have been widespread across southern England on all but the most acidic and calcareous soils; either as a relic of previously rich vegetation or as a new colonist in impoverished communities in intensively farmed winter crops on heavy calcareous clay in central England. In Germany it is a species of the Caucalidion community (Hofmeister & Garve, 1986), a community of dry calcareous soils characterised by a high number of rare and rapidly declining species including Adonis aestivalis, Caucalis platycarpos and Ranunculus arvensis (Eggers, 1984).

4.3 SUMMARY OF HABITAT REQUIREMENTS Habitat features important to S. pecten-veneris across Britain are summarised in Table 5. Table 5 – Summary of habitat features important to Scandix pecten-veneris in Britain.

TYPE DESCRIPTION

Physical & Topographical

A lowland species. Soils are typical of arable cultivations, primarily over calcareous clay but also over other soils. The majority of remaining species-rich arable sites in the south of England are at unshaded sites that are flat or gently sloping to the south.

Vegetation/ Structural

S. pecten-veneris is a better competitor than many other uncommon arable species, but experiment has shown that it fares better under an open crop cover. Vegetation is species-rich at some sites, but at others it is species-poor and sometimes rank by the end of the growing season.

Processes

S. pecten-veneris needs exposed soil for germination and for growth to seed production. This disturbance is created largely by ploughing for arable use, although other forms of disturbance may be sufficient in non-arable sites.

Chemical

Soils are variable, derived largely from calcareous clays, but also include chalky and non-calcareous sandy loams. Large quantities of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are typically added annually to arable soils, a characteristic of the majority of sites, although the more species-rich sites are more extensively farmed.

S. pecten-veneris has many features in common with other annual species of arable land. Some of these are also included in Plantlife’s ‘Back from the Brink’ Programme and are listed on the Priority List of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK Biodiversity Steering Group, 1995). These include Galeopsis angustifolium, Silene gallica, Torilis arvensis and Galium tricornutum.

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S. pecten-veneris is a short-lived species that has relatively simple requirements. It needs to produce seed regularly and requires large gaps in the vegetation for seedling establishment. The seeds germinate readily given sufficient water, and need no special treatment. It has, however, a relatively short-lived seed-bank, conferring limited ability to survive periods of adverse conditions and making it liable to the detrimental effects of changes in management. It is almost entirely an obligate autumn and winter germinator. Unlike many of the rarest arable species, it is capable of competing with a crop canopy under optimum circumstances.

5 Management Implications Ideal management in arable land for S. pecten-veneris involves annual autumn cultivation without subsequent disturbance until the next year. Where this species occurs as a part of a species-rich community including species that perform better after spring cultivations, it may be necessary to cultivate in spring in some years. No fertiliser or herbicide should be applied. The harvest of a crop (if any has been drilled) should be after S. pecten-veneris has produced seed. Troublesome weed species, such as Alopecurus myosuroides and Bromus sterilis, may become abundant under continuous autumn cultivations. Problems with such species may be reduced by occasional spring cultivation.

6 Threats / Factors Leading to Loss or Decline or Limiting Recovery The major reason for the loss of populations has been the progressive intensification of arable farming since the early 20th Century. Losses in the beginning of the century were probably due to improved methods of separating crop and weed seeds after harvest. After the Second World War, populations were rapidly lost with the development of effective broad-spectrum herbicides. Scandix pecten-veneris is susceptible to most of the earliest-used compounds and most of the most widely used broad-spectrum herbicides. The introduction of more competitive crop varieties and increasing applications of nitrogen may have had less effect on this species than on many other rare arable plants. It has been suggested that stubble burning (now illegal) destroyed much of the seed production. These processes continue to threaten many of the remaining sites. New threats come from the abandonment of arable land, as the profitability of arable farming in Britain decreases. The first parts of fields to be withdrawn from production are usually the less productive field margins, which are also the last refugia of many rare arable plants. These are often converted to grassland, sometimes as part of agri-environment schemes designed to benefit farmland wildlife. It is important that the management of field margins under agri-environment schemes is considered in the context of the available information on distribution of uncommon arable plants. S. pecten-veneris persisted through the 1980s in an area of the central East Anglian Plain, when it had disappeared from much of the rest of the country. This is still the part of Britain where it is most frequent. This is thought to be due to the pre-adaptation of this species to the intensive arable systems practiced in this area of heavy calcareous boulder clay.

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Virtually all crops are drilled in the autumn, the ideal time for S. pecten-veneris germination. The major weed problem in this area is Alopecurus myosuroides. Weed control relies on sulphonylurea compounds, to which S. pecten-veneris has some resistence. The increase in number of sites in the 1990s coincided with the cessation of stubble burning which may have allowed the survival of more seeds and the transport of seed between sites in straw. Table 6 – Summary of threats to the survival of Scandix pecten-veneris in the UK.

THREAT CAUSE Habitat destruction Agricultural improvement.

Successional

The development of closed grassland following cessation of ploughing. Field margins can be taken out of production, both as part of changes in farming operations and also as part of agri-environment schemes. Neglect of road-verge cutting.

7 Current Conservation Measures

7.1 N-SITU MEASURES IFormal protection Some sites are now under favourable management, largely under agri-environment scheme agreements. The Somerset Wildlife Trust owns The Fivehead Arable Fields Reserve, which is also an SSSI. The Porth Joke site in Cornwall is owned by The National Trust. Current conservation schemes A number of countryside conservation schemes offer assistance to land managers conserving sites currently or formerly supporting populations of S. pecten-veneris. Amongst the most appropriate are:

Environmental Stewardship This is a new agri-environment scheme, which provides funding to farmers and other land managers in England who deliver effective environmental management on their land. The scheme is intended to build on the recognised success of the Environmental Sensitive Areas scheme and the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. It is administered by DEFRA.

Environmentally Sensitive Areas

The ESAs scheme aims to maintain and often to enhance the scientific, landscape, historical and cultural values of key environmental areas across England. To date, 22 areas have been identified as ESAs and 10,915 agreements signed, encouraging the sympathetic management of 532,000 hectares of land. Agreements typically last for a 10-year period. The scheme is administered by DEFRA. It is not known how many sites are within the existing ESA system.

Countryside Stewardship

The Countryside Stewardship scheme was the Government’s principal scheme for the sustainable management of valued areas in the wider countryside, through the payment of grants to enhance, restore and recreate targeted landscapes and sites. It operated outside Environmentally Sensitive Areas. Through the scheme, farmers and land managers entered 10-year agreements to manage land in an environmentally sensitive manner in return for annual payments. Like the ESA programme, this

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scheme was administered by DEFRA. A number of sites for S. pecten-veneris are managed under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

For more information about each programme, access the appropriate link by clicking on the scheme title.

7.2 EX-SITU MEASURES A single collection of seed of Scandix pecten-veneris from The Broadbalk Field at the Rothamsted Experimental Station is held in the Millennium Seed Bank at The Royal Botanical Gardens at Wakehurst Place (Table 7). Table 7 - Accessions of Scandix pecten-veneris held in the Millennium Seed Bank.

VICE-COUNTY DETAILS Cambridgeshire Madingley; 2 collections. Cambridgeshire Comberton. West Sussex Cattlestone Farm, West Chiltington. East Sussex Nr Berwick Church, Church Farm. Northamptonshire 1km north of Raunds Church. Suffolk Cookley.

7.3 RESEARCH DATA Scandix pecten-veneris was one of eight species selected for detailed study as part of a PhD project on the conservation of Britain’s arable flora. It was included in studies of arable plant communities at Rothamsted (Brenchley & Warington, 1930, 1933 & 1936; Thurston, 1968), which provided some initial observations on dormancy, germination periodicity and response to nutrient application.

7.4 MONITORING SCANDIX PECTEN VENERIS AND THE COMMON MONITORING STANDARD -At some sites numbers are small and all individuals should be counted. Large populations cannot be counted accurately, and a sampling and mapping strategy should be adopted.

8 References Biodiversity Steering Group (1995). Biodiversity: the U.K. Steering Group report. H.M.S.O.,

London. Brenchley WE (1920). Weeds of Farmland. Longmans, Green & Co. London. Brenchley WE & Warington K (1930). The weed seed population of arable soil, 1. Numerical

estimation of viable seeds and observations on their natural dormancy. Journal of Ecology 18, 235-272.

Brenchley WE & Warington K (1933). The weed seed population of arable soil, 2. Influence of crop, soil and methods of cultivation upon the relative abundance of viable seeds. Journal of Ecology 21, 101-127.

Brenchley WE & Warington K (1936). The weed seed population of arable soil, 3. The re-establishment of weed species after reduction by fallowing. Journal of Ecology 24, 479-501.

Clapham AR, Tutin TG & Moore DM (1987). Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press.

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Conti, F., Manzi, A. & Pedrotti, F. (1997). Liste Rosse Regionali delle Piante d’Italia. Associazione Italiana per il World Wildlife Fund & Società Botanica Italiana, Camerino, Italy.

Čeřovský, J., Feráková, V., Holub, J., Maglocký, Š. & Procházka, F. (1999). Červená kniha ohrožených a vzácných druhů rostlin a živočichů ČR a SR. Vol. 5. Vyšší rostliny. Príroda a. s., Bratislava.

Eggers T (1984). Some remarks on endangered weed species in Germany. Seventh International Symposium on Wed Biology, Ecology and Systematics. Paris.

Environmental Protection Department of the Republic of Lithuania (1992). Red Data Book of Lithuania: Rare and Endangered Species of Animals, Plants and Fungi. Vilnius, Lithuania.

Flint C (1987). “Crops” Guide to Herbicides. Reed Business Publishing, Wallington, Surrey. Gärdenfors, U. (2000). Rödlistade arter i Sverige 2000 – The 2000 Red List of Swedish

Species. ArtDatabanken, SLU, Sweden. Grime JP, Hodgson JG & Hunt R (1988). Comparative Plant Ecology. Chapman & Hall,

London. Hofmeister H & Garve E (1986). Lebensraum Acker. Paul Parey, Hamburg & Berlin. Hulten, E. & Fries (1986). Atlas of north European vascular plants north of the Tropic of

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9 Acknowledgments Thanks to Philip Wilson for his work on the draft of this dossier. Thanks also to Plantlife International Volunteer James Peat for his editorial work.

10 Contacts Plantlife International The Wild Plant Conservation Charity 14 Rollestone Street Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 1DX Tel: 01722 342730

or contact enquiries: enquiries@plantlife.org.uk

11 Links ARKive species web page for Galium tricornutum:

http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/plants_and_algae/Scandix_pecten-veneris/ Plantlife International wishes to acknowledge the financial support of English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales for the Back from the Brink (species recovery) programme.

ISBN: 1 904749-26-7

Original draft by Phil Wilson Edited by Plantlife International

First draft dated May 2004 Last revised 17 February 2006

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