Lansdown, R. V.

In recent years, awareness has risen surrounding the crucial role of plants in providing ecosystem services and on their decline – they are one of the essential foundations of healthy ecosystems that we depend on. However, significant gaps in knowledge still remain. In this context, the European Red List of lycopods and ferns provides the first ever comprehensive assessment of the extinction risk of all native lycopod and fern species to Europe.

This publication summarises results for a selection of Europe's native species of vascular plants. In total 1,826 vascular plant species have been assessed from the following groups: species listed on European or international policy instruments, selected priority crop wild relatives, and aquatic plant species. Of those at least 467 species are threatened with extinction.