Narrow Small-reed (Calamagrostis stricta)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Grass |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Calamagrostis stricta |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Timm) Koeler |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | in Stroh et al., 2014 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Assessed as VU in England (Stroh et al., 2014) due to ongoing decline and restricted range (<5 populations). Plant Atlas 2020 also showed a strong long-term decline in England. The number of English sites is now 6 down from 11 historically but possibly only two have large populations (Cranberry Rough, Malham Tarn Moss). Hydrological changes and hybridisation remain threats at some English sites. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Species-specific threats exist on some lowland sites, notably hybridisation with Calamagrostis canescens, possibly due to lower of water-levels in its fenland habitats combined with hydrological changes and increased nutrients from air and surrounding land. |
| 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: | This species has a highly restricted distribution and is unlikely to colonise new sites. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Pathogen, hybridisation, INNS |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Attempt to raise water levels at Cranberry Roughs in Fenland where it has suffered from drying out in the past and as a result hybridisation/introgression with Calamagrostis canescens.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Landscape/catchment/marine management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: 1 site
High priority sites: Cranberry Roughs SSSI
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Ensure that light grazing regimes are maintained or reintroduced on sites where over-/under-grazing has been identified as an issue. Ideal grazing is with low stocking in autumn/winter in order to reduce the abundance of tall competitors such as Phragmites australis, Calamagrostis canescens, etc.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Cranberry Rough, Thompson Common, Malham Tarn Moss
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.