Pteridophytes as field indicators of natural biodiversity restoration in the Scottish flora

Summary

The pteridophyte flora of Scotland, as with that of the British Isles as a whole, is still recovering from the great reduction of its original diversity caused by the Pleistocene glaciations. However, the isolation of the British Isles, their range of suitable habitats and their climatic and edaphic opportunity has provided conditions in which processes of natural biodiversity restoration in pteridophytes can be demonstrated and monitored. The modern pteridophyte vegetation of Scotland is analyzed in this evolutionary perspective. Using the examples of both ferns and fern allies, it is suggested that it is at least as important to conserve suitable sites for the continued origin of novel taxa as it is to allow for the perpetuation of existing taxa and communities.