Starved Wood-sedge (Carex depauperata)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vascular plant > flowering plant > Sedge |
| Red List Status: | Endangered (Not Relevant) [EN(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: | Carex depauperata |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Curtis ex With. |
| 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 EN in England (Stroh et al. 2014), confined to 2 extant native sites, plus introductions in at least 2 additional areas |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | All sites conservation management dependent & species fluctuates markedly depending on condition of vegetation |
| 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 would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Structured - sufficient |
| Species Comments: | Species responds well to management, with c. 150 plants at each naturally occurring site. Now reintroduced into Cranborne (5 sites) & Charterhouse (3 sites) |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Monitor all extant populations, both native & re-introduced populations, reviewing site condition & management requirements
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Cheddar Wood SSSI (Somerset). Cranborne area. Godalming/Charterhouse area.
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Maintain appropriate management of its woodland edge/ trackside habitat, and extend areas under appropriate management to encourage expansion of populations at both extant (and confirmed historic) native sites, & as necessary at reintroduced sites
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 6-10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Cheddar Wood SSSI (Somerset). Westbrook Copse (Godalming, Surrey). Reintroduced sites. Historic sites such as Hanging Wood, Charlton (Greenwich)
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Assess feasibility of reintroducing further populations to historic sites, where previous records moderately well localised & where continued woodland dynamism (coppicing / ground disturbance etc) can be guaranteed
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Hanging Wood, Charlton (Greenwich)
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.