In 2011, Norfolk FWAG conducted research to identify areas where our rarer arable plants still occur in Norfolk. The report provided an understanding to assist in targeting environmental stewardship options and other initiatives that will benefit them.
The arable flora is now one of the most threatened group of plants in Britain. Modern agricultural techniques such as the widespread use of herbicides, efficient seed cleaning, increased nitrogen application and the development of densely-grown high-yield crops have brought many of these once common species to the verge of extinction. Some thirty-nine species of plant that occur primarily in arable fields are considered threatened in the current Red List for Great Britain and twenty-five of these are known to occur in Norfolk.
The project was funded by the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership, and delivered in collaboration with the Norfolk Flora Group & Botanical Society for the British Isles, and the Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service.
