Juniper (Juniperus communis)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > conifer > Shrub/sub-shrub |
| 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: | Juniperus communis subsp. communis |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Juniperus communis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | L. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | Subsp. hemisphaerica is listed separately because it is on s41 (and CR). |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | LC in GB, NT in England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | As natural regeneration is occurring only rarely, there is a need to create suitable early successional conditions for seedling establishment, as per the Plantlife protocol |
| 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | Create bare 'scrapes' on downland, moorland & heathland valuable to provide suitable future habitat for seedling establishment. Grazing regimes should be sympathetic to allow natural regeneration |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Continued heavy grazing, lack of suitable open microsites, spread of fast growing scrub & general poor health of England's ageing population of junipers all conspire to threaten the species with extinction at many sites. Ex-situ options for bolstering populations have been successful, but carry disease & genetic risks. Perhaps the most successful trials in regeneration have been undertaken by Plantlife post-2010 that has seen the establishment of good populations of young, healthy juniper in sites that have been mechanically scraped & sown with locally collected seeds. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Maintain central database (established by Lena Ward, Plantlife & others) of all current or post 1950 sites, to include known population size/extent/condition, sex ratio, presence of seedlings/saplings, history and management. Monitor all populations on 3-5 year cycle.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: Juniperus communis continues to decline across England, with populations becoming critically small & functionally extinct. A central database of site records will ensure that any change in population size can been rapidly highlighted & conservation action undertaken.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Target creation of early successional habitat as micro-sites for seedling establishment, using management protocols established by Plantlife (2011) within lowland populations with poor regeneration. Adapt methodology to upland/moorland sites. Target as priority sites with 30 plants + in lowlands, & 100 plants+ in uplands, particularly where genetic research has informed where genetic rescue might be appropriate.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments: Wherever possible, efforts should focus on bolstering extant populations with locally collected seed sown in suitable conditions in situ. Cultivation & reintroduction of plants from ex situ material should only be used as a last resort, due to issues of disease transmission & poor genetic diversity.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Implement correct grazing of Juniper sites. Works should provide opportunities for creation of regeneration microsites and the sustainable management of adult populations through appropriate grazing regimes, scrub control, expansion of grassland /heathland habitats, predator control (deer / rabbits) etc
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: Sites with surviving populations in excess of 20 bushes.
Comments:
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.