Mitigation Measures for the Nationally Threatened Schoenoplectus triqueter
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Client: RPS-MCOS /Limerick County Council This rare and legally protected bulrush is recorded in Ireland only from the River Shannon and a few of its tributaries (the Maigue and Owenagarney rivers) in counties Limerick and Clare. There has been a dramatic decline of the species in Britain. The development of the Limerick Southern Ring Road, including the Limerick Tunnel, will impact populations of this plant within the Shannon estuary. BEC Consultants are working with RPS-MCOS, the project engineers, and Limerick County Council to minimise the impacts caused to this plant. BEC Consultants carried out an examination of the genetic variation in the native populations of Schoenoplectus triqueter using molecular markers in an attempt to determine the population genetic structure and hence potential genetic erosion through the loss of certain colonies. Our results show very little population structure but considerable genetic variation, which was surprising given the species clonal spread and low seed set. Surveys of the distribution of the plant within the estuary have also been carried out. A sub-sample of Schoenoplectus triqueter plants have been translocated to storage containers at the Botanic Gardens at Trinity College Dublin where they will be monitored. Ongoing work on this project involves the development of mitigation measures which will include the translocation of all the Schoenoplectus triqueter plants from areas disturbed by the road construction works. |
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