RARE MONITORING 2017

Ajuga pyramidalis © Zoe Devlin What is it? In 2017, we decided to carry out a small pilot scheme on rare plant monitoring. Where experienced plant recorders had submitted recent casual records of rare to the Centre, they were asked if they would be willing to visit their rare plant population once a year during its flowering period and to count the total number of individuals present. The response to the scheme from the small number of recorders contacted has been overwhelming positive and it has resulted in very valuable data being collected in 2017.

Data on the rare plant location, the count and additional information about the site is submitted online through a dedicated web portal set up by the Data Centre. The project was discussed and agreed with the NPWS. It is framed around the 2016 Red List and is mainly focused on monitoring vulnerable, near threatened and rare least concern .

Why is it important? When assessing the national FAST FACTS 2017 conservation status of very rare species according to IUCN Red List methodology, it is recommended that 37 you use annual population count data. That’s the total number of rare plant Given the numbers of rare plant populations that were monitored in the species a country might have, this 2017 pilot information can be difficult to collect in any volume. This citizen science project relies on the generosity of 22 expert volunteers to ‘keep an eye’ on That’s the number of rare plant species rare populations near them and to that were monitored in 2017 submit standardised count data once a year. When collated centrally over time, this information makes a very 10 important contribution towards That’s the number of species monitored efforts to protect these species. that are Flora Protection Order species

Thank you Huge thanks to all of you who have 18 contributed to the scheme in 2017. It That’s how many people contributed to is hard to emphasise how valuable the pilot scheme the information is in conserving these plants into the future. Number of records submitted by species in 2017

Flora Protection Species No. of pops monitored 2016 Red List status Order species Ajuga pyramidalis (Pyramidal Bugle) 2 VU morio (Green-winged orchid) 2 Arenaria norvegica (Arctic sandwort) 2 VU prostratus (Wild Asparagus) 1 EN Yes Betonica officinalis (Betony) 1 NT Yes Carex divisa (Divided Sedge) 1 EN Yes Centaurium pulchellum (Lesser Centaury) 1 NT Yes longifolia (Narrow-leaved Helleborine) 2 VU Yes viride (Frog Orchid) 3 NT maritima (Sea-) 1 NT flavum (Yellow Horned-) 1 NT Hordeum secalinum (Meadow Barley) 1 VU Yes Hypopitys monotropa (Dutchman's pipe) 2 NT var. chlorantha 1 LC (Ophrys apifera evaluated) Ophrys insectifera (Fly Orchid) 6 NT Puccinellia fasciculata (Borrer’s Saltmarsh-grass) 1 NT Yes Pyrola rotundifolia subsp. maritima (Round-leaved Wintergreen subsp. maritima) 1 VU Yes Sarcocornia perennis (Perennial Glasswort) 1 VU Yes Scilla verna (Spring Squill) 1 LC Spiranthes romanzoffiana (Irish Lady's-tresses) 1 NT Yes (Autumn Lady's-tresses) 4 NT Trifolium ornithopodioides (Bird's-foot Clover) 1 LC Total: 37

Map showing the hectads within which rare plants were monitored in 2017

Those people who contributed to the pilot scheme in 2017 were:

Anne Harrington Rees, Eamonn Twomey, Geoff Newell, Helen Carty, Jamie O’Neill, John Fogarty, Laurence Laide, Lynn Stringer, Mary Howard, Oisin Duffy & Mairead Crawford, Oonagh Conway, Paul Green, Paula O’Meara, Chris Huxley, Sam Connolly, Trish Walsh, Zoe Devlin. What happens to the data? All data submitted is double checked. Upon validation, it is annually loaded into the National Vascular Plant database held by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and made available through ‘Biodiversity Maps’. Given the rarity of the species, they are loaded into this system as 1km2 records.

The full dataset is stored internally within the Data Centre in the dedicated web portal as monitoring data and can be added to year upon year. Volunteers can log into this system and see, or download, their own data at any time. This full dataset is made available to the NPWS as required.

How will it be used? The true value of these data are in the longer term trends that they will provide. If annual counts are carried out on the populations into the future it will provide early warning signs of threats. It will also help improve the accuracy of future conservation assessments of the species. It is the intention of the Data Centre that this is a longer-term data stream to support rare plant conservation in .

How were the species selected? Species were not deliberately selected. The scheme has been developed organically around those recorders who happened to submit casual records of very rare species. These species were cross referenced with the 2016 Irish Plant Red List to select those that it would be most valuable to have trend data on. It does not involve deliberately searching for rare species. It is the intention that the scheme continue to grow in this way.

Plans for 2018 It is hoped to continue the scheme again in 2018 and to try to reach a target of an additional 15 rare plant populations monitored. If existing populations are monitored again next year this would bring the total to around 50. It is the intention to slowly develop a high quality data steam in this way over the coming years.

Can I monitor other species? Yes, if you are aware of other rare species near you that you feel it would be useful to monitor annually please get in touch. It will be necessary for me to add new species manually to the online system so that you can submit data.

Can I take part? Yes, we are always grateful for new volunteers. If you have not participated before, but are aware of a population of any of the species monitored in 2017, please get in touch directly. As the monitoring data is not made publicly available, this allows me to minimise the chance of the same population being inadvertently monitored by multiple people [email protected]