Bryophytes (Mosses, Liverworts & Hornworts)

Abstract

This Ireland Red List provides a revision of the existing bryophyte Red List (Lockhart et al., 2012a). It covers the island of Ireland. It draws on data used for the 2012 list, and on new data accumulated between 2012 and December 2024. It lists 841 taxa (including species, subspecies and varieties). A brief introductory section sets out the scope of the revision and refers back to the much more comprehensive information given in Lockhart et al., (2012a, b). A summary is given of ‘new’ taxa in Ireland, excluded taxa, and changes in the Red List since 2012. Threat assessments follow the current IUCN criteria and guidelines (IUCN, 2012a, b) and have been applied to a targeted subset of the Irish bryophyte flora, except for 11 taxa thought to be of alien origin in Ireland. The checklist of Irish bryophytes follows nomenclature in A Census Catalogue of British and Irish Bryophytes (Blockeel et al., 2021a), with very few exceptions. Each taxon is categorised by its IUCN threat category in Ireland, and in Europe. Legal protection status in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, as well as internationally, is listed. Although information on the percentage of the global populations occurring in Ireland is lacking, an attempt is made to identify those taxa for which Ireland might hold a special responsibility for conservation, and those taxa considered endemic or near-endemic to Europe are shown. A short discussion summarises some of the key findings of the revision and makes some observations about bryophyte conservation in Ireland, and suggestions for conservation action.