Eslövs ansvarsarter i LONA-projekt

A LONA (local nature conservation support) project administrated by Eslöv town in cooperation with Lund Botanical Society was undertaken in 2020– 2022 to determine the status of the protected plant species Betony (Betonica officinalis L.) and Marsh Crane’s-bill (Geranium palustre L.) in natural popu- lations. The second main goal of the project was to establish the species in planted back-up localities. Saw-wort (Serratula tinctoria L.) and Fen Ragwort (Jacobaea paludosa (L.) P. Gaertn.) were also inclu- ded in the project. The approximate number of spon- taneous specimens within the municipal boundary in 2021 were 76, 290, 47 and 300 respectively for Be- tony, Marsh Crane’s-bill, Saw-wort and Fen ragwort. In 2022, of 342 Betonies planted in 2017–2022, 264 were present, 27 of the 51 planted Marsh Crane’s- bills and 11 of the 59 planted Saw-worts were pre- sent, while 86 Fen ragworts had increased naturally to 124. Stehag material of Betony is present at all five back-up localities established within the Eslöv town area dedicated to the LONA project. There are also two previously established back-up localities for Betony from Kastberga Meadow along Harjagersvä- gen and Abullahagen nature reserve in Eslöv, where at least 63 and four specimens respectively were ob- served. In addition, Betony’s three other provenan- ces in Eslöv are represented in Botanical Gardens outside the municipality border, namely Botanical Garden of Lund University, Fredriksdal Museums and Gardens and in the gardens of Ystad Monastery. The microfauna of Betony at the four spontaneous localities was also investigated within the project. Adjacent to the project area, Holy-grass (Hierochlöe odorata (L.) P. Beauv.) and Upright Bugle (Ajuga genevensis L.) were established in the storm-water pond Vetedammen in Stehag. Some of the sponta- neous localities have been improved by grass and shrub clearance and, in one case, planting of local material. Overgrowth is by far the largest threat to these threatened species.