European Red List of Vascular Plants - European Commission

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6. Discussion .......................................................................................................................................................43 6.1 Status and population trends of European vascular plants............................................................................43 6.2 Major threats to European vascular plants...................................................................................................45 6.3 Protection of habitats and species in Europe ...............................................................................................46 6.4 Protection of habitats and species in the EU................................................................................................48 6.5 Conservation management of vascular plants in the EU .............................................................................49 6.6 Extinction risk versus conservation status....................................................................................................50 6.7 Red List versus priority for conservation action...........................................................................................51 7. Recommendations ...........................................................................................................................................53 7.1 Overview and recommendations for conservation measures.........................................................................53 7.2 Application of project outputs.....................................................................................................................54 7.3 Future work.................................................................................................................................................54 References...............................................................................................................................................................56 Appendix 1. Threatened and extinct policy plants at the European and EU 27 level ...............................................61 Appendix 2. Red List status of selected European vascular plants............................................................................70 Appendix 3. Methodology for spatial analyses ......................................................................................................124 Appendix 4. Example of species summary and distribution map ..........................................................................125 iv
Foreword Europe is a continent rich in natural and cultural heritage, with a diverse range of habitat conditions from dry Mediterranean maquis in the south to the Arctic tundra of the far north. Possibly more than anywhere else in the world the European landscapes have been changed by human activities so that now the continent is covered with a mosaic of natural and semi-natural habitats surrounding urbanized areas. Although bringing higher diversity, this modification has obviously also placed great pressures on our wildlife and natural areas. In consequence, biodiversity loss is an enormous challenge in the EU today, with around one in four species currently threatened with extinction and 88% of fish stocks overexploited or significantly depleted. In line with global commitments made in Nagoya in October 2010, where world leaders adopted a package of measures to address global biodiversity loss over the coming decade, the European Commission has adopted in May 2011 an ambitious new strategy to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in the EU by 2020. There are six main targets, and 20 actions to help Europe reach its goal. The six targets cover: 1. full implementation of EU nature legislation to protect biodiversity 2. better protection for ecosystems, and more use of green infrastructure 3. more sustainable agriculture and forestry 4. better management of fish stocks 5. tighter controls on invasive alien species 6. a bigger EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss Numerous scientific studies show that biodiversity in Europe has been declining rapidly for some time during periods of expansion and intensification of land use. The reporting process under Article 17 of the EU Habitats Directive underlines this fact as most species and habitats of community interest are still not under a favourable conservation status. Regional European Red Lists are another important tool to scientifically assess and communicate the status of species. They usefully complement the reporting under the Habitats Directive as they usually address all species in a specific taxonomic group, not just those protected by EU legislation. They hence give important complementary and comprehensive information about the situation of biodiversity in Europe. This first assessment of Europe’s Vascular Plants has assessed 1,826 species. The assessment comprises three groups: plants included in European and international policy instruments, selected priority crop wild relatives, and aquatic plant species present in Europe. The assessment shows us that at least 467 species are threatened. Assessments carried out for other taxonomic groups at European level show that 44% of freshwater molluscs, 37% of freshwater fishes, 23% of amphibians, 19% of reptiles, 15% of mammals and dragonflies, 13% of birds, and 9% of butterflies are threatened, groups that have been comprehensively assessed in Europe. Additional European Red Lists assessing a selection from species groups have shown that 20% of assessed terrestrial molluscs and 11% of assessed saproxylic beetles are also threatened. Unfortunately, the drivers for these declines are mostly still in place. Intensified livestock farming, recreational activities, tourism and urban development, wild plant collection, invasive alien species, natural system modification and pollution pose the main threats for vascular plants. What can we as Europeans do about this First and foremost, we need to fully implement the existing European legislation. The EU Habitats and Birds Directives are the main pieces of legislation ensuring the protection of Europe’s nature. The Natura 2000 network of protected sites and the efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity in the wider countryside are helping to guarantee its future conservation. But the challenge is a wider one, as the new EU Biodiversity Strategy shows. Sustainable use of our wider environment and the maintaining of ecosystem services have come to the centre of our attention. I hope that this European Red List for Vascular Plants will add another piece of evidence for the fact that efforts aimed at halting the loss of biodiversity need a major boost in the coming years. Pia Bucella Director Directorate B: Nature, Biodiversity & Land Use European Commission v
Page 1: European Red List of Vascular Plant
Page 4 and 5: Published by the European Commissio
Page 8 and 9: Acknowledgements All of IUCN’s Re
Page 10 and 11: Andrés Vicente Pérez Latorre Lore
Page 12 and 13: are declining. But more interesting
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Page 16 and 17: The assessment provides three main
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plant species are classed as Extinc
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into water bodies as run-off and ca
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the list are threatened but it also
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in natural populations within defin
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Greater Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla g
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■■ Raise the profile of CWR as
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References Anderson, S. 2002. Ident
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IPCC. 2007. Fourth Assessment Repor
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Family Species Red List Status Euro
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Family Species IUCN Red List Catego
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European Commission European Red Li
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European Red List of Vascular Plants - European Commission

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