Important Plant Areas (IPA) is a programme set up in the UK, by the organisation

Plantlife Plantlife is the international conservation membership charity working to secure a world rich in wild plants and fungi. It is the only UK membership charity dedicated to conserving wild plants and fungi in their natural habitats and helping peo ...

, to provide a framework for identifying and maintaining the richest sites for plant life, possibly within existing

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s; though the protection of the IPA itself is not legally enforced. The term plant life in this case refers to any number of species, encompassing

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.liverworts The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of ge ...

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es, and wild

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

s. IPAs are selected with the intention of focusing on the conservation of the important wild plant populations in these areas, and act as a subset in the broader context of Key Biodiversity Areas. Designating an IPA is intended to gain awareness and encourage long-term conservation through an 'ecosystem-based' approach. The identification of IPAs is based on three criteria: A. Presence of threatened plant species: the site holds significant populations of one or more species that are of global or regional conservation concern
B. Presence of botanical richness: the site has an exceptionally rich flora in a regional context in relation to its biogeographic zone
C. Presence of threatened habitats: the site is an outstanding example of a habitat or

vegetation type Vegetation classification is the process of classifying and mapping the vegetation over an area of the earth's surface. Vegetation classification is often performed by state based agencies as part of land use, resource management, resource and envi ...

of global or regional plant conservation and botanical importance IPAs are integral to the initiatives of government agencies and

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s in furthering the development of conservation goals on a national and international level. Plantlife's international team has had some success in spreading the concept abroad. Areas include: *

Dolmelynllyn Estate Dolmelynllyn Estate is an area of farmland, woodland and parkland near the village of Ganllwyd in southern Gwynedd, Wales. It is owned by the National Trust. The estate was formerly owned by William Madocks, the architect of Porthmadog. Features ...

, Gwynedd{{Cite web , title=Where to See {{! Meirionnydd Oakwoods Habitat Management Project , url=https://www.meirionnyddoakwoods.org.uk/where-to-see/ , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729145948/https://www.meirionnyddoakwoods.org.uk/where-to-see/ , archive-date=2022-07-29 , access-date=2022-07-29 , language=en-GB

References

External links

IPA Website

A-Z of Areas of Biodiversity Importance: Important Plant Areas (IPA)

Protected areas of the United Kingdom Ecoregions

See also

References

External links