Post by Krisztián Németh

Some positive Friday conservation news! Two years ago I introduced cuttings of the rare wildflower Dyer's Greenweed (Genista tinctoria) into our meadow at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) Edinburgh site. This summer, the plants have finally flowered: the first confirmed flowering in the Pentlands for almost a century. The last record from our monad was in 1927. While Dyer's Greenweed remains relatively widespread in southern Britain, at the northern edge of its range it is now restricted to a handful of sites in Dumfries & Galloway and Northumberland. Its return is especially encouraging because it is a characteristic species of traditionally managed, species-rich grasslands. The species has very poor natural dispersal, meaning it is extremely unlikely to recolonise former sites without targeted reintroductions into suitable habitat, such as our newly established hay meadow. Across much of the country, the loss of traditional hay meadows through grassland improvement and the shift to earlier silage cuts have driven its decline by removing suitable habitat and preventing plants from setting seed. Hopefully these plants will now set seed and begin spreading naturally through the meadow. Dyer's Greenweed is also the sole foodplant for five nationally scarce moths: Large Gold Case-bearer, Greenweed Flat-body, Greenweed Piercer, Greenweed Groundling and Greenweed Pygmy, and supports a range of other specialist insects, making its return good news for an entire community of wildlife. #MeadowRestoration #NatureRecovery #PlantConservation #Biodiversity #Genistatinctoria #DyersGreenweed