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Climate change and lizard orchid distribution

Some rare plants will suffer as a result of global warming; others may benefit from it. The rare lizard orchid occurs mainly in chalk and limestone grasslands and in dunes. Its northern limit is in England and its distribution is controlled by climate. Predictions that our climate will become warmer and wetter suggest that this orchid will become more common in the south and will spread northwards.

This process may already have started. In 1992 there were only 10 populations in England and by 1999 there were 19. Populations are increasing in size and living longer. Spread will be limited by the availability of suitable habitat and the low probability that seeds will fall in favourable places.

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