Flat-sedge (Blysmus compressus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Sedge |
| 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: | Blysmus compressus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (L.) Panz. ex Link |
| 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: | VU in England, this species is still widespread in northern England but has undergone marked declines in the south due to habitat loss and agricultural intensification/drainage of wetlands |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Relies on the maintenance of flushed grassland overlying calcareous bedrock so very sensitive to drainage and/or eutrophication |
| 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: | Alongside targeted actions, extensive grazing may benefit the species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | This species is too widespread for a systematic survey although a sample of sites were surveyed by the BSBI as part of the Threatened Plants Project and this highlighted the extent of decline in the lowlands and the reasons why (mainly agricultural improvement) |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Assess the condition and status of lowland sites in England
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Using the information collected in Action 1 identify key lowland sites and reinstate conditions needed to improve condition
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Actions should focus on maintenance or reinstatement of short swards and dynamic hydrological regimes at key sites, alongside wider efforts to reduced eutrophication of water bodies etc.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
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.