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The threatened arctic-alpine plants in Scotland are described from the results of a comprehensive survey carried out between 1990 and 1996 which attempted to record all populations. The factors affecting the survival of populations of these species are indicated along with the legal measures available for their protection. I consider whether we should protect these species and whether we can. The steps needed to help ensure their survival are suggested. These could include the assessment of the local risk to populations and the implementation of remedial management to threatened populations. Scottish botanists have to decide whether they support such a change in conservation practice for plants.

Summary Existing special mechanisms for the protection of plants are very limited in their scope. The UKBAP is potentially much stronger but depends on close collaboration between the conservation agencies and voluntary groups to fill our skills gaps especially for lower plants. Currently there are provisions for the list of UKBAP priority species to develop with changing needs only in England and Wales. Appropriate monitoring should increase the effectiveness of SSSI in protecting plants but plants will not be monitored on those sites where the citation fails to mention a valid plant feature. Lower plants are particularly poorly represented on existing citations. A change in the law in England and Wales permits citations to be revised there without site renotification. We could do more to effectively protect plants by targeting threatened plant populations by making small and isolated populations a priority for remedial management; by intervening when significant populations of a wider range of species a...

Summary Maintaining successful regeneration is clearly essential to the conservation management of threatened plants. We examine some of the considerations necessary to determine whether regeneration is successful.