Article

Irina Tatarenko, PhD, Dr. Sci., Research Associate, School of Environment, Earth, and Ecosystem Sciences, the Open University (Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK76AA, UK); e-mail: irina.tatarenko@open.ac.uk
Michael Dodd, PhD, iSpot curator, Faculty of STEM, the Open University (Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK76AA, UK); e-mail: Michael.dodd@open.ac.uk
Hilary Wallace, The Head of Ecological Survey Bangor (The School House, Canon Pyon, Hereford, HR48PF, UK); email: hilary@ecologicalsurveys.co.uk
Graham Bellamy, оwner of Dryad Wildlife (3 Marquis Hill, Shillington. Hitchin. Hertfordshire SG5 3HD, UK); e-mail: graham@gcbellamy.plus.com
Andy Fleckney, Senior Reserves Officer, The Wildlife Trust Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (Priory Country Park, Barkers Ln, Bedford MK41 9DJ, UK); e-mail: Andy.Fleckney@wildlifebcn.org

Tatarenko I., Dodd M., Wallace H., Bellamy G., Fleckney A. 2020. Protecting small populations of rare species. Case study on Dactylorhiza viridis (Orchidaceae) in Fancott Woods and Meadows SSSI, Bedfordshire, UK. Nature Conservation Research 5(Suppl.1): 165–171. https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2020.028

Dactylorhiza viridis is a small orchid species, sensitive to competition with dense and tall herbaceous vegetation. Its populations in Europe and in the UK have been declining over the last century. Small, isolated populations have remained in Protected Areas. The population of the species in Fancott Woods and Meadows Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) was studied in 2011–2019. The number of orchid plants varies substantially from year to year, but the areas occupied by the population remain the same. Fruit production is high. The population is under threat from herbivores and from competition with tall vegetation on the meadow. Expansion of the vigorous herb Filipendula ulmaria was recorded on the meadow in 2009 that negatively affected the rare plant community. Additional management of an early hay cut was implemented on the meadow as a trial. A botanical survey of managed and control plots showed a reduction in the vigorous herbs, an increase in species number in the cut plots and a resulting more open sward. The orchid population also benefits from a more open sward. The management of the site is the key to the survival of this small orchid population.

conservation, competition, fruit set, hay cut, herbivory, orchid population, site management

Received: 27.02.2020. Revised: 16.05.2020. Accepted: 23.05.2020.

Adamowski W. 2006. Expansion of native orchids in anthropogenous habitats. Polish Botanical Studies 22: 35–44.
Bateman R.M., Pridgeon A., Chase M.W. 1997. Dactylorhiza viridis (L.). Lindleyana 12(3): 129.
BSBI. 2020. Maps and Data from Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland. Available from https://bsbi.org/maps-and-data
Claessens J., Seifert B. 2018. Ant pollination of Dactylorhiza viridis. Orchid Digest 82: 154–158.
Clapham A.R., Tutin T.G., Warburg E.F. 1962. Flora of the British Isles. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1269 p.
van der Cingel N.A. 1995. An Atlas of Orchid Pollination: European Orchids. USA: CRC Press. 260 p.
Ellenberg H. 1988. Vegetation ecology of Central Europe. 4^th edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 756 p.
Fancott Woods and Meadows. 2020. Fancott Woods and Meadows WTBCN Flyer. BCN Wildlife Trust. Available from https://www.wildlifebcn.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/FancottWoodsandMeadows-WTBCN-Flyer.pdf
Fuller R.M. 1987. The changing extent and conservation interest of lowland grasslands in England and Wales: a review of grassland surveys 1930–1984. Biological Conservation 40(4): 281–300. DOI: 10.1016/0006-3207(87)90121-2
Fuller R.M., Groom G.B., Jones A.R. 1994. The Land Cover Map of Great Britain: an automated classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 60: 553–562.
Honnay O., Jacquemyn H. 2007. Susceptibility of common and rare plant species to the genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation. Conservation Biology 21(3): 823–831. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00646.x
Jacquemyn H., Waud M., Merckx V., Brys R., Tuteca D., Hedren M., Lievens B. 2016. Habitat-driven variation in mycorrhizal communities in the terrestrial orchid genus Dactylorhiza. Scientific Reports 6: 37182. DOI: 10.1038/srep37182
Janssen J.A.M., Rodwell J.S., Criado M.G., Gubbay S., Haynes T., Nieto A., Sanders N., Landucci F., Loidi J., Ssymank A., Tahvanainen T., Valderrabano M., Acosta A., Aronsson M., Arts G., Attorre F., Bergmeier E., Bijlsma R.J., Bioret F., Biţă-Nicolae C., Biurrun I., Calix M., Capelo J., Čarni A., Chytrý M., Dengler J., Dimopoulos P., Essl F., Gardfjell H., Gigante D. et al. 2016. European Red List of Habitats Part 2. Terrestrial and freshwater habitats. Brussels: European Commissioner for the Environment. Available from https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/knowledge/pdf/terrestrial_EU_red_list_report.pdf
Jefferson R.G., Pinches C.E. 2009. The conservation of floodplain meadows in Great Britain: an overview. Fritillary 5: 4–17.
Khomutovskii M.I. 2012. Seed production in Coeloglossum viride (L.) C. Hartm. and Orchis militaris L. in natural monument «Seltsovskie Zalomki» (Tver region). In: Actual issues of studies and vonservation of biodiversity in the Upper Volga region. Ivanovo: Ivanovo State University. P. 79–85. [In Russian]
Minasiewicz J., Znaniecka J.M., Górniak M., Kawiński A. 2018. Spatial genetic structure of an endangered orchid Cypripedium calceolus (Orchidaceae) at a regional scale: limited gene flow in a fragmented landscape. Conservation Genetics 19(6): 1449–1460. DOI: 10.1007/s10592-018-1113-4
Nilsson S. 1979. Orchids of Northern Europe. Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd. 146 p.
Online Atlas. 2019. Coeloglossum viride. In: Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Available from https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/coeloglossum-viride
Plotnikova I.A., Degteva S.V., Dubrovskiy Yu.A. 2010. Ecology and population structure of Coeloglossum viride (Orchidaceae) in Northern Urals. Rastitelnye Resursy 46(4): 35–46. [In Russian]
Ridding L.E., Redhead J.W., Pywell R.F. 2015. Fate of semi-natural grassland in England between 1960 and 2013: A test of national conservation policy. Global Ecology and Conservation 4: 516–525. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2015.10.004
Rodwell J.S. 1992. British plant communities. Vol. 3: Grasslands and montane communities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 552 p.
Rothero E., Lake S., Gowing D. (Eds.). 2016. Floodplain Meadows – Beauty and Utility. A Technical Handbook. Milton Keynes: Floodplain Meadow Partnership. 104 p.
Stroh P.A., Leach S.J., August T.A., Walker K.J., Pearman D.A., Rumsey F.J., Harrower C.A., Fay M.F., Martin J.P., Pankhurst T., Preston C.D., Taylor I. 2014. A Vascular Plant Red List for England. Bristol: Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. 193 p.
Swarts N., Dixon K. 2009. Terrestrial orchid conservation in the age of extinction. Annals of Botany 104(3): 543–556. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcp025
Tatarenko I.V. 1991. Coenopopulation dynamics of the three orchid species under different degrees of anthropogenic pressure. In: The topical problems of phytobiota protection in the west regions of Ukraine. Lvov. P. 109–112. [In Russian]
Tatarenko I.V. 2002. Intensity of mycorrhizal infection in some orchid populations in Japan. In: P. Kindlmann, J.H. Willems, D.F. Whigham (Eds.): Trends and fluctuations and underlying mechanisms in terrestrial orchid populations. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers. P. 167–183.
Tatarenko I.V., Kondo K., Futagawa K., Suzuki R. 2002. Experimental studies of orchid seed germination in nature. In: Biodiversity and Bioresources of the Urals and surrounding territories. Orenburg. P. 80–82.
Tolmachev A.I. 1963. Family Orchidaceae. In: Arctic Flora of the USSR. Vol. 6. Moscow; Leningrad: Publisher of AS USSR. P. 73–85. [In Russian]
Vakhrameeva M.G., Tatarenko I.V., Varlygina T.I., Torosyan G.K., Zagulskii M.N. 2008. Orchids of Russia and adjacent countries. Ruggell: A.R.G. Gantner Verlag K.G. 690 p.
Wallace H., Tatarenko I. 2018. Fancott vegetation change, 2011–2018. Report to BCN Wildlife Trust. London: The Open University. 16 р.
Willems J.H., Melser C. 1998. Population dynamics and life-history of Coeloglossum viride (L.) Hartm.: an endangered orchid species in The Netherlands. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 126(1–2): 83–93. DOI: 10.1006/bojl.1997.0146