European Red List of Vascular Plants - European Commission

islands (Corsica, Cyprus, the Greek islands, and Sardinia).
Another area that flagged up as being of concern is the
centre of the Pannonian Plain in Hungary.
3.4 Major threats to policy plants in
Europe
The major threats to each species were coded using the
IUCN Threats Classification Scheme. A summary of the
relative importance of the different threatening processes
is shown in Figure 8.
The main threat to the threatened plant species in this
group is intensified livestock farming, and especially
intensive grazing activities have the worst impacts. Plant
species are directly affected through livestock eating
them or due to trampling and increased nitrification.
The conversion of grasslands into agricultural land for
livestock, arable farming or forestry is a serious threat
leading to habitat loss or at least degradation. On the
other hand, many species are in need of moderate
disturbance and were thriving well in areas under
traditional agricultural use such as extensive grazing.
Whereas an intensification of agricultural activities leads
to the disappearance of those species on one hand, the
complete abandonment of these activities poses also a
serious threat (listed under ecosystem modifications). The
abandonment leads to changes in the vegetation dynamic
and succession of woody plants and shrubs that lead to
an increased competition and therefore disappearance of
plant species.
Recreational activities such as hiking, mountaineering,
or walking are the second biggest factor causing species
to be directly or indirectly threatened. Ecosystems
frequented by humans often notice a decrease in quality
and the plants are in danger of being trampled. Skiing
activities in mountain areas, for example, threaten the
plant Campanula bohemica. Another example are species
growing in sand dunes and beaches affected by vehicles
accessing the coast, such as in the case of Anchusa crispa.
Invasive alien species and problematic native species are
particularly threatening the flora on the Canary Islands
and Madeira but also in the Mediterranean. Introduced
plants such as Carpobrotus edulis and Opuntia ficus-
Carpobrotus edulis, native to South Africa has been introduced widely to the Mediterranean as an ornamental plant and now replaces native vegetation in many parts of that region as
seen here at the coast of Cascais in Portugal. Photograph © Melanie Bilz.
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