Rusty Fork-moss (Dicranum spurium)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Non-vascular plant (incl. chromists) > moss > Moss |
| Red List Status: | Least Concern (Not Relevant) [LC(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Dicranum spurium |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Hedw. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Callaghan, 2023 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Possibly qualifies as threatened with extinction in England due to small population size and/or decline |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Species-specific surveys and data analysis are required to determine IUCN Red List status in England |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | The species has a restricted distribution and so is unlikely to benefit from untargeted actions |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Combination or other (detail in comments) |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | GB RL criteria: n/a. Boreal-montane European species. Recovery potential low due to climate change and natural rarity. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Undertake surveys and data analysis to determine IUCN Red List status in England
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Possibly at risk of extinction in England
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: In sympatry with Red List evaluation, undertake species distribution modelling to understand vulnerability to projected climate change over the next 50 years
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: A Boreal-montane species that may be particularly vulnerable to climate warming
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: In consultation with landowners, assess habitat management requirements at surviving locations and produce a costed plan for any new actions required
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: What new habitat management can feasibly be undertaken at sites is largely unknown.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.