Progress Towards a Species Inventory for Conservation of Bryophytes in Ireland

Abstract

Ireland has one of the richest bryofloras in Europe, with a wealth of Atlantic species that is shared only with western Scotland. Until recently knowledge of Irish bryophyte distribution has nevertheless been insufficient to inform conservation priorities. Intensive field surveys of rare and threatened bryophytes in Ireland were therefore carried out during 1999-2005 and are continuing. The draft Red List of Irish bryophytes from 1998 has already been greatly altered by this work, with deletion of 53 taxa that were under-recorded, whereas 24 taxa have been newly discovered in Ireland and several others that had been lost for more than a century have been rediscovered. The result should eventually be a more reliable Red List that provides an effective tool for conservation of threatened bryophytes, by recognising which taxa are really threatened and which populations are of greatest importance in a European context. Action to protect bryophytes in Ireland can then be developed more effectively. It has been realised that certain habitats are especially threatened, most notably the montane 'Northern Hepatic Mat', but also some coastal sites and intermediate fens.