Apeer-reviewed open-access journal

BioRisk 18: |—16 (2022) 1 1
doi: 10.3897/biorisk. 18.761 14 RESEARCH ARTICLE & RB lO Re IS k

https://biorisk.pensoft.net

Relocation and formation of new local population of
Viola pumila Chaix - an endangered species in Europe
and identification of measures for improvement
of its habitat

Maria Zh. Kaschieva', Nikolay P. Nedyalkov'

| University of Shumen Konstantin Preslavski, Faculty of Natural Sciences, 115 Universitetska Str, 9700
Shumen, Bulgaria

Corresponding author: Maria Zh. Kaschieva (m.kaschieva@shu.bg)

Academic editor: Josef Settele | Received 4 October 2021 | Accepted 30 December 2021 | Published 27 April 2022

Citation: Kaschieva MZ, Nedyalkov NP (2022) Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila
Chaix — an endangered species in Europe and identification of measures for improvement of its habitat. BioRisk 18:

1-16. https://doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.18.76114

Abstract

The meadow violet (Viola pumila Chaix) is an endangered species which is regionally extinct in many
European countries. This is a stenobiontic species with a very limited distribution in Bulgaria. Only a
few populations have been detected, and they consist of several tens to several hundreds of specimens.
The meadow violet has limited reproductive abilities and weak competitiveness. ‘The species is exposed to
various anthropogenic threats, as the most significant of them are related to ploughing, conversion of the
mesophilic meadows into arable lands, changes in the water regime of the habitats, the expansion of highly
competitive species from the group of tufted cereal grasses and infrastructure construction. To date, infor-
mation concerning the relocation of rare and endangered plant species in Bulgaria is rather scarce. In the
present study we provide a protocol on our activities during a successful establishment of a new locality as
part of our effort to successfully relocate one particular population of the meadow violet. The observations
made after the relocation of the species over a two-year period (2020 and 2021) provided data on the suc-
cessful relocation, and the creation of a new locality for the species. We discuss the conservation measures
needed for this rare and endangered species, and efforts to increase its population, as well as the measures
needed for effective management of the habitats of V’ pumila (mainly 6510 “Lowland hay meadows’).

Keywords
Biological restoration, conservation measures, eco-management, grassland habitat, plant ecology, Viola

pumila Chaix

Copyright Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons At-
tribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.

2 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

Introduction

The extinction of plant species is a well-recognized global problem. In the last 250
years about 571 plant species have become extinct (Humphreys et al. 2019) and that
means that two or three plant species have been lost every year. The extinction of one
particular plant species may directly impact other related organisms and even entire
ecosystems (GBIF 2021). In recent decades, some plant species registered a dramatic
decline in their population numbers. Several taxonomically closely related species of
the genus Viola L. fall into this category: V. elatior Fr.,.V. pumila Chaix and V. persici-
folia Roth (= V. stagnina Kit.). These species are among the most endangered plants in
Central Europe (Eckstein et al. 2006; Holzel 2003). Due to the loss of suitable habi-
tats or changes in their hydrological regime, these species have become extremely rare
(Korneck et al. 1996) and are the subject of restoration programs in several European
countries (Pullin and Woodell 1987). The meadow violet is suffering a severe decline
in Europe. Reports attest to a diminishing number of this species (Eckstein et al. 2006)
and this is the reason why the species is included in the red lists of several European
countries: Switzerland (Info flora); Czech Republic (Grulich 2012); Italy (Buldrini and
Dallai 2011) and also Bulgaria (Petrova and Vladimirov 2009).

V. pumila is a hemicryptophyt, in which the regenerative buds are located below
the soil surface. The species is a representative of the spring ephemeroids and begins
its growth in the early spring. It develops in a short time, but only by favorable soil
moisture and scant competition for light by the syntopic species. According to Eck-
stein et al. (2006), V pumila has a special type of life cycle and reproduction. The
mechanisms of distribution of the species were not well studied. Pollination takes place
in the flowers, but that mechanism has not been understood to date. Most likely, the
species is a self-pollination (cleistogamic) plant, which is characteristic of members of
the Violaceae family. This violet is a myrmecochor plant — ants are partially responsible
for dispersal of the seeds, which is indicated by the presence of elaismosom in the seeds.
During cracking, the seed boxes shoot the seeds at a distance of up to 1.19 m. In the
soil, the scattered seeds are located in the 5 cm soil layer, where they undergo a period
of stratification before beginning their active life cycle. The end of the growing season
of V. pumila is in autumn, when the above ground parts of the plant dry out and the
plant prepares for overwintering.

V. pumila has a Eurasian-continental distribution in the temperate climate zone
(Buldrini et al. 2013). Populations of the species have been registered in Western Eu-
rope (Aeschiman and Burdet 1994), Central Europe (Danihelka et al. 2009) as well as
in Eastern Europe (Gejdeman 1986). In Bulgaria, the species was considered extinct
for a prolonged period, however, in the 1990s, the species was rediscovered by Andreev
(1993). There were six known localities of the species, however two of them have disap-
peared in recent years (Apostolova and Meshinev 2015). In Bulgaria, the species can be
found at altitudes between 500 and 1000 a.s.l. Currently, the largest populations are
located around the villages of Kokalyane and Tsraklevtsi, as well as in the vicinity of
Aldomirovsko and the Dragoman marshes (Apostolova and Meshinev 2015).

Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila Chaix 3

In the case of our study, a population of the meadow violet was threatened with
direct annihilation during the construction of a motorway. The situation demanded
fast and precise actions for localization of a possible new habitat, selection of relocation
tactics and procedures for transporting and planting the violets, as well as developing
a plan for sustaining the new local populations. Our activities resulted in a successful
relocation of one particular population of V. pumila. To our knowledge this is the first
successful establishment of a new locality following the relocation of an endangered
plant species on the territory of Bulgaria. We discuss the necessary conservation meas-
ures for the habitat of V pumila (mainly 6510 “Lowland hay meadows’).

Materials and methods

The most complete morphological description of the species V. pumila was provided
by Eckstein et al. (2006) and from Buldrini and Dallai (2011). The species is a peren-
nial herbaceous plant, with a rhizome up to 30 cm long and a root thickness of 0.5 to
1 cm. The stem is erected, with a height of between 5 and 20 cm. ‘The leaves have 0.3
to 0.6 mm long hairs; the leaf length is 2-6 cm and their width is 1-2 cm; the edges
are shallowly serrated. The flower stalks are 5—10 cm long, the petals are purple at the
beginning of flowering and later they become pale purple to whitish, with cilia at the
base and 3—5 dark longitudinal lines. The fruit box is elongated, with yellow to brown
coloration with a 10 mm length and width of 6-7 mm. One box may contain 24 seeds
which are brownish and about 1 mm in length. Flowering occurs in the period April—
May, and fruit formation and fruiting is in the period May—June (Table 1).

In the late spring of 2019 we provided the first on spot field survey for identifica-
tion of the exact position and ranges of the population of meadow violet, as well as
the number of the plants that had to be relocated. We inspected the terrains along the
road Sofia-Kalotina between the km. 21 and km. 22. The field study was performed by
the use of the transect method. ‘The transects were repeated three times in three days
by three qualified experts with the necessary experience. The species identification was
performed according to Delipavlov 1979, Delipavlov et al. (2011).

Table |. Phenological peculiarities in V. pumila.

Period of the year Developmental phase
1. Beginning of April Appearance of the first aboveground stalks
23 Middle of April to the end of the month Buttonization phase — forming of the flower buds
3. End of April — beginning of May Beginning of blooming
4, First half of May Mass blooming
5. Second half of May End of the blooming phase
6. End of May to the middle of June Gradual ripening and cracking of the seed boxes
Te Middle of June End of mass dissemination
8. October The aboveground parts dry out and the plant prepares to overwinter

* Depending on the specific meteorological conditions during the year, the phenophases during which V.

pumila passes, may occur at different times

4 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

In the processing of the digital data for the identification of the most suitable sites
for relocation, the layer with the distribution of the natural habitat within the Natura
2000 site SCI BG0000322 Dragoman (in “shape” format) was intersected with the
layer containing the boundaries of the national protected area “Aldomirovsko Blato”
and the layer of the municipal property in the protected area. The data processing and
statistical analyzes were performed with the standard tools of ArcGIS 10 and the cor-
responding extensions of the used software.

Two satellite images from the Sentinel-2A L2A satellite (https://apps.sentinel-hub.
com/eo-browser/) were used to determine the boundaries of the fire that occurred in
2019. In accordance with the period of the fire, the images used were selected respec-
tively before the fire (September 21, 2019) and immediately after its end (October 26,
2019). Standard Arc GIS 10 tools were used for drawing the boundaries of the burned
area, as well as for the map visualization.

The violets were manipulated in the morning or late afternoon, when the intensity
of sunshine is not very high and the temperatures are lower. With the use of suitable
tools the plants were dug up along with the adjacent soil around their rhizomes (in a
radius of 25 cm. from its center). The plants were then immediately placed in vegeta-
tion containers with a depth of 30 cm and some water was added (Fig. 1). The speci-
mens were covered with a transparent foil to preserve the soil moisture and the fresh-
ness of the plants. In this form, the violets were transported to their new locality. The
specimens were planted in pre-prepared and moistened pits — 3 holes of the size of the

Figure |. Technology for the relocation a identification of the plant b extraction of a rhizome € replace-

ment of the rhizomes in container d preparation of the rhizomes for transportation.

Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila Chaix 5

Figure 2. Implementation of the Action plan for permanent relocation of the species to a suitable habi-

tat: a preparation of the relocation pits b planting of the rhizoms C stuffing of the soil around the newly

planted rhizome.

rhizomes in a raw in 10 m distance, to ensure enough space for the root system. The
rhizomes were carefully positioned in the pits and the soil was compacted afterwards
for reduction of the soil air (Fig. 2). We then watered the plants with 60 cl to prevent
further water stress, as well as for faster adaptation.

After planting the violets in the new location, special care was taken in situ until
their full adaptation (3-6 months) and subsequent two-years monitoring was carried
out. During this period, the following activities were performed: watering (monthly);
mowing around the localities in periods of three months; monitoring of the seed dis-
persal; observation of the flowering of the specimens during the next vegetation cycle;
monitoring for pressures (fire, pollution, ploughing). All of our activities were coordi-
nated with the competent authorities.

Results

The population of V. pumila, which was the focus of the present study, was endangered
by a large linear infrastructure project. The project envisages the enlargement of an
existing road section in the Sofia-Kalotina direction and its restructuring in “Europe
Motorway’. To protect the specimens, it was necessary to relocate the plants away from
the route of the future motorway (Fig. 3), to create a new locality and to identify ap-
propriate measures for its new habitats.

6 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

Locality “Road I-8 Kalotina-Sofia”, N

Locality "Road I-8 Kalotina-Sofia”, S
[J Road 1-8 "Kalotina-Sofiq"

HE) Confirmed localities ot Viola pumila
{] scl BG0000322 "Dragoman"

1:2 500

Figure 3. Plan for reconstruction of the existing road as part of Europe Motorway and position of two
localities of V. pumila.

During our field surveys we identified a total of 50 individuals of V. pumila formed
in 8 tufts. The other species detected around the violets were: Alopecurus pratensis, Des-
champsia cespitosa, Lysimachia vulgaris, Molinia caerulea and Potentilla reptans.

The identification of a suitable new location was performed with the idea that it
had to be identical to the current habitat of the plants. The new habitat had to possess
similar physical characteristics, species composition, soil-climatic conditions and the
water regime had to be similar to those of the original habitat. Several possible variants
of suitable terrains were considered for creating the new habitat for the violets.

As a result of the analysis of all collected data, we calculated that possible sites
for relocation of the species were the following four areas from the territory of the
village of Aldomirovtsi: land properties with the following numbers 00223.257.32,
00223.257.62, 00223.257.68 and 00223.257.186. These terrains were municipal
property and were managed by the municipality of Slivnitsa. All four land properties
fall within the boundaries of the Aldomirovsko Blato protected area. The area was de-
clared for the purpose of preserving the natural habitats of protected and rare species
of waterfowl and 40 species of higher plants. The land properties also fall within the
boundaries of a Natura 2000 site (SCI BG0000322 Dragoman). Another land property
was identified as a possible variant — 00223.257.294 from the territory of the village
of Aldomirovtsi. In this sector is located one of the most numerous populations of V.
pumila in the country. However, the crucial disadvantage of this land was that it is pri-
vate property and falls outside the boundaries of the Aldomirovsko Blato protected area.

Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila Chaix 7

Point of relocation Ne3.

“a
bol
ss Point of relocation Ne2 By

3} —
Point of relocation Ne1
ie!

Appropriate area for relocation
baat Locality "Aldomirovsko blato"
[| Locality "Road |-8 Kalotina-Sofia", N
SS Locality “Road |-8 Kalotina-Sofia", S
GB Road 1-8 "Kalotina-Sofiq”
[__} SCI 8G0000322 "Dragoman"

CJ Protected area “Aldomirovsko blato” CAE (; Geobye, Eerihster Geopreplics, CNESAlrbve DS, USDA, USGE, Acre GID, IGEN, ent the
mits ‘

Figure 4. Sites of relocation of V. pumila.

After geodetic and ecological field surveys were performed, we selected as the most
suitable property for the relocation of V. pumila — 00223.257.68 from the territory of
the Aldomirovtsi village (Fig. 4). That terrain met the requirements of the meadow
violet concerning the conditions of the soil, the vegetation and the water regime. We
selected floodplain meadows, which were moist as water was retained above the soil
surface in the local depressions. The soil in the habitat was of “meadow-swamp” type.
It was covered by hydrophilic, mesophilic and xeromesophilic grass communities.

Part of the selected terrain was occupied by natural habitat 3150 “Natural eu-
trophic lakes with Magnopotamion or Hydrocharition”, and another part by natural
habitat 6510 “Lowland hay meadows” (Fig. 5). Because we worked with a very rare
plant species with few remaining localities in the country, as well as because of the
small population subject for relocation (only 50 specimens), we decided not to divide
the individuals and provide experiments to grow them in different conditions. We
identified the most optimal suited location and planted all specimens together.

The other three potential land properties from the territory of the Aldomirovtsi
village were occupied only by a natural habitat “3150 Natural eutrophic lakes with
Magnopotamion or Hydrocharition” and were flooded almost all year round. On that
basis, we assessed them less suitable for the relocation of the violets.

A key step in the initial phase of our efforts was the coordination of our actions
with the local municipality. The new habitat was in a municipal property, which al-
lowed for regular grooming of the terrain and monitoring of the plants. With the next

8 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

» = Points of relocation

Locality "Aldomirovsko blato"
SCI BG0000322 “Dragoman"

Habitat 6510
Appropriate area for relocation
(J Protected area “Aldomiravsko blato” : l i ve, Eetiheter Geoptephics, CNEGIAliius DE, USDA, USEE, AcoGRID, IGN, ent the

1:10 000

Figure 5. Location of the new habitats of V. pumila in natural habitat 6510 Lowland hay meadows.

step we prepared an Action plan for all activities. The plan and the technology for the
permanent relocation of the species were reconciled by the relevant competent authori-
ties and implemented in full scale.

The relocation of the V. pumila specimens was accomplished before the end of the
vegetation period — in our case before the full rupture of the seed boxes (Table 1). We
aimed the rupture of the seed boxes and the dissemination to occur on the spot of the
new location in order to improve the chance of successful seed generation and devel-
opment of the next vegetation (see Volis 2019). According to Eckstein et al. (2006),
the vegetation period of the species ends in the October — November period when the
upper sections of the plant die out and the violets prepare for overwintering.

After the establishment of the new locality, we performed in situ care until the
complete adaptation of the plants. This included watering and mowing around all of
the three new micro- localities. In the first month after the relocation (June), regular
watering was carried out (every 3 days), and during the next two months (July and Au-
gust) — every 7 days. Mowing was carried out on an area of 4 square meters around each
of the micro-localities in the middle of July. The two-year follow-up monitoring of the
new sites and adjacent areas of habitat 6510 “Lowland hay meadows” showed success
in preserving the relocated specimens and also their successful reproduction (Fig. 6)

In October 2019, a large-area fire was detected within the Natura 2000 site SCI
BG0000322 Dragoman and it reached the territory of the new locality of Vv. pumila
(Fig. 7 and Fig. 8). None of the three plots with relocated plants was affected by that fire.

Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila Chaix 9

\

a
tins
wie

iS
5

Figure 6. Condition of the relocated plants: a successful replanting b rupture of the seed boxes € dis-

semination.

Volis (2019) described two main successive stages that plant species go through
after reintroduction to a new location. The first stage begins with the flowering of a
mature (relocated) plant. The second involves the establishment of an entirely new
reproductive individual at the site of transmission (reintroduction). The second stage
consists of smaller phases associated with the appearance of reproductive organs, feed-
ing flowers and seeds, scattering the seeds in places, with conditions for germination
and survival of the young plants. In V. pumila we detected flowering in a mature adult
in the year after reintroduction — the first stage indicated by Volis was successfully
completed. The implementation of the second stage began in the year of relocation
(2019) with the scattering of seeds from the seed boxes of the transferred adults. The
full completion of the second stage required more time due to the specific features of
the species V. pumila. The fact that there are flowers from adults a year after reintroduc-
tion, (Fig. 9), as well as cracked seed boxes in the year of reintroduction (Fig. 6b), gives
us hope for the successful completion of the second stage.

In the early summer of 2021 (early July) we started the monitoring of the new
locality of the violets in the second year after relocation. We identified new juvenile
specimens with different heights from 2 to 7 cm, which were in the vegetation phase
between the first and third pair of true leaves (Fig. 10). They all sprouted after the
plants were relocated. All of the young plants were found at relocation points 2 and
3 (Fig. 4) — in point 2 there were found seven young specimens, and in point 3 there
were two young specimens. The young plants were located outside the main tuft.

10 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

"4

=.
ys Point of relocation Ne | es
ee

Paint of relocation Ne2

Point of relocation N21

[J Area of fire 14.10.2019 r.
{-] $c! BG0000322 "Dragoman"
Protected area "Aldomirovsko blato"

Figure 7. Map of the fire in the area of the new locality of V. pumila.

Figure 8. Pictures of the three working polygons of the new locality which are not affected by the fire:

a picture of polygon number | represented on Figure 07 b picture of polygon number 2 represented on

Figure 07 € picture of polygon number 3 represented on Figure 7.

Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila Chaix

s

\

n P
ae

~

\

Figure 9. Photograph of blooming (late phase) in V. pumila detected in the spring after the fire.

q
wT SS
= at

7

i Sed p >

Figure 10. New young plants obtained from seeds of different heights and vegetation phases.

11

12 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

Discussion

The cycle of regeneration of the species at the new location (including transfer from
the original location to the new one) included several successive stages. The process
started with the planting of the mature adult specimens in a new location and ended
with the establishment of a new reproductive local population. Intermediate phases in
the establishment of that new locality included: production of living pollen, building
of knots, development of seeds, dissemination and growing of a viable young plant
(Volis 2019). With the discovery of juvenile (young) specimens of V. pumila at the site
of relocation, it can be considered that the second (final, concluding) phase described
by Volis (2019) has been successfully completed.

The newly established localities of V. pumila were saved from the fire in 2019 (see
results) due to the special algorithm of the cultivation of the relocated plants and, es-
pecially, measures related to mowing the habitat.

The fires are often related to the functioning of the entire ecosystems. They can
start spontaneously or may have anthropogenic origins. The fires impact the biodiver-
sity and may change the structure of the ecosystems and the landscape (Whelan 2009,
Arganaraz et al. 2015). In 2000, a bulletin was published for Australia, which deter-
mined the impact of fires on wetland flora (similar to that of the habitat of V. pumila).
According to Allen (2000), the plants can survive the effects of fires by regenerating
dormant buds from stems or roots, while fire can cause the germination of seeds of
some plants stored in the soil. If a fire occurs during an inappropriate growing season,
it would result in the loss of stocks of seeds or mature plants. ‘The strength and intensity
of the fire depends on the season of occurrence, which affects the plant communities
inhabiting the wetlands. Fires in this type of habitat may destroy a significant part of
the existing dry biomass, which is above the water level, as well as nearby terrains with
mesophilic vegetation. It should be noted that due to the cares taken during the first
year of reintroduction (cleaning of the area and mowing around the nests with the
reintroduced plants) the fire’s boundaries (demonstrated on Fig. 7) did not affect the
violets, but all of the vegetation in the vicinity was burned out (Fig. 8 a,b,c). We can
conclude that taking proper measures for the plants in the first year of their relocation
is key to both their successful adaptation and the prevention of damage.

We selected to relocate the saved plants in one particular habitat of type 6510
“Lowland hay meadows’, which has good representativeness and degree of conserva-
tion in SCI BG0000322 Dragoman.

However, at biogeographical level, the habitat 6510 is not in good condition due
to anthropogenic threats (Eionet CDR 2020). In the RUHD (2015) for Bulgaria,
no habitats were reported to be in “Unfavorable — Bad” condition. According to the
second report for Republic of Bulgaria concerning the period 2013-2018 (RUHD
2020a), for the Continental Biogeographic Region (CON) the assessment of the con-
servation status of three grassland habitats was “Unfavourable — Bad” (U2) and one
of these habitat was habitat 6510 “Lowland hay meadows”. Because of the poor as-
sessment of the condition of the habitat 6510 “Lowland hay meadows” in RUHD

Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila Chaix 13

(2020b), concerning the parameters “Future perspectives”, the conservation measures
have to be focused on the reduction of the pressures and the threats.

According to Apostolova and Meshinev (2015) the most important threats for the
habitats of V. pumila are related to the conversion of mesophilic meadows into arable
land through habitat drainage. As necessary measures, the authors pointed out the
maintenance of the haymakingregime in the sites and maintaining a moderate degree
of disturbance within populations. Tzonev and Gusev (2020) identified the following
main threats to habitat 6510 “Lowland hay meadows”: the abandonment of haymak-
ing, overgrazing, the ploughing for arable land, and changes in the water regimes. The
measures they offer for the conservation of the habitat are related to the restoration
of the haymaking use, change of the mowing terms and the reduction of the grazing
intensity. Brzank et al. (2019) reported that the mowing delay or sporadic mowing
lead rapidly to significant changes in species composition in the habitat. The drying
of marshy soils leads to fast mineralization, carbon dioxide and nitrogen release, en-
croachment of nitrophilous plants, and the disappearance of peat earth layer. Accord-
ing to Martin et al (2018), pressures such as agricultural intensification, abandonment,
lack of mowing and the application of natural fertilizers (such as slurry) are the largest
threats to the conservation of the habitat 6510

“Lowland hay meadows”. As appropriate conservation measures, the authors pro-
pose implementation of management plans and targeted agri-environment schemes,
and engagement with landowners and other stakeholders.

Our results indicate that the most important conservation measures which are es-
sential for the management and protection of habitat 6510 “Lowland hay meadows”
in the CON Biogeographical Region (incl. the Natura 2000 site SCI BG0000322
Dragoman) are as follows: i) regulation of the haymaking regime of the meadows; ii)
regulation of grazing of farm animals; iii) conversion of abandoned arable land into
meadows; iv) restoration of the water regime of the meadows where it was disturbed;
v) creation and implementation of incentives and compensatory mechanisms for the
owners of private lands in which the habitat is distributed; vi) fire prevention; vii)
surveillance of the status of the meadows and data collection on the structure and func-
tion of the habitat in the particular Natura 2000 sites; viii) updating of the information
in the Standard Data Forms (SDFs) of Natura 2000 sites; ix) raising the awareness of
the stakeholders by conducting regular information campaigns aimed at the local pub-
lic, as well as by providing publicly available up-to-date information by the competent
authorities, and scientific and environmental non-governmental organizations.

Conclusions

The successful relocation and the creation of new habitats for rare and endangered
plant species can be achieved by adhering to a certain algorithm of actions. By setting
the site specific conservation objectives (Commission note, 2012) and the necessary
conservation measures for habitat 6510 “Lowland hay meadows” in SCI BG0000322

14 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

“Dragoman’, the original and the new localities of V pumila should be taken into
consideration. The determination of the site specific conservation measures in SCI
BG0000322 “Dragoman” and the territories where they will be applied (the specific
landfills / properties) should be implemented with the active participation of the rel-
evant stakeholders (Commission note 2013). The management plans for Natura 2000
sites could represent an appropriate tool for this (NEC 2019). The availability of reli-
able up-to-date information on the distribution and condition of V. pumila and its
habitats is crucial in order to implement proper management and conservation policy.

Author’s contribution

MK and NN provided the field surveys, all of the relocation activities and the moni-
toring of the condition of the plants. MK issued the time tables, NN organized the
coordination with the competent authorities and the government institutions. Both
authors wrote the manuscript, prepared the maps and designed the figures.

Acknowledgements

We thank the scientific staff of Shumen University (Shumen, Bulgaria) for their support.
Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen, Project No. RD-08-109 / 02. 02.2021.

References

Aeschiman D, Burdet HM (1994) Flore de la Suisse et desterritoires limitrophes. Le noveau
Binz, second ed. Editiondu Griffon, Neuchatel, 603 pp.

Allen M (2000) Water notes for wetlands management. Wetlands and fire. Water notes. Water
and Rivers Commission, Government of western Australia. Advisory notes for land man-
agers on river and wetland restoration, Australia. https://water.wa.gov.au/__data/assets/
pdf_file/0019/3349/11412.pdf

Andreev N (1993) Materials and critical notes on the flora of Bulgaria. Hist. Nat. Bulg. 4:
29-37.

Apostolova I, Meshinev T (2015): Viola pumila Chaix. In: Peev D (Ed.) Red list of Republic
of Bulgaria (1) Plants and fungi. BAS and MoEW, Sofia, 652. http://e-ecodb.bas.bg/rdb/
bg/vol1/

Arganaraz JP, Pizarro GG, Zak M, Bellis LM (2015) Fire Regime in Cérdoba. Fire Ecology 11:
55-73. https://doi.org/10.4996/fireecology.1101055

Brzank M, Piekut K, Dabrowski P, Pawluskiewicz B (2019) The succession and regression of
plant species on lowland hay meadows in Poland. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies

28(3): 1567-1577. https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/85302

Relocation and formation of new local population of Viola pumila Chaix bs

Buldrini F, Dallai D (2011) Viola pumila Chaix, Schede per una Lista Rossa della Flora vasco-
lare e crittogamica Italiana. Informatore Botanico Italiano 43: 381-458. https://www.so-
cietabotanicaitaliana.it/sbi//IBI%2043%20(2)%20201 1/38 1-458%20-%20Schede%20
per%20una%20Lista%20 Rossa%20della%20Flora%2 0vascolare%20e% 20crittogami-
ca%20ltaliana.pdf

Buldrini F Conte L, Dallai D, Ferrari C (2013) Genetic diversity of the rare and endangered
meadow violet (Viola pumila Chaix) at the southern margin of its range, Plant Biosystems.
Official Journal of the Societa Botanica Italiana. 147: 563-572. https://doi.org/10.1080/
11263504.2012.754383

Commission note (2012) Setting conservation objectives for Natura 2000 sites, 1-8. https://
ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/docs/commission_note/co
mmission_note2_EN.pdf

Commission note (2013) Establishing conservation measures for Natura 2000 sites, 1-9. htt-
ps://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/docs/commission_note/
co mNote%20conservation%20measures_EN.pdf

Danihelka J, Niklfeld H, Siposova H (2009) Viola elatior, V. pumila and V. stagnina in Austria,
Czechia and Slovakia: A story of decline. Preslia 81: 151-171. https://www.cabdirect.org/
cabdirect/abstract/20103074757

Delipavlov D (1979) Viola sp. In: Yordanov D (Ed.) Flora of Bulgaria (7). BAS, Sofia, 529.

Delipavlov D, Tcheshmedjiev I, Popova M, Terziiski D, Kovachev I (2011) Key to the plants in
Bulgaria. Academic Publishing House of the Agricultural University, Plovdiv.

Eckstein RL, Hélzel N, Danihelka J (2006) Biological Flora of Central Europe: Viola elatior,
V. pumila and V. stagnina. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 8(1):
45-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2006.01.001

Eionet CDR (Central Data Repository) (2020) European Environment Agency BG_habi-
tats_report_2013—2018-Redelivery 2020. https://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/bg/eu/art17/envx-
hyhke/

GBIF (2021) Occurrence Download. https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.7rag2h

Gejdeman TS (1986) Higher plants of Moldova SSR, 34 ed. Kisinev, 576 pp.

Grulich V (2012) Red List of vascular plants of the Czech Republic. Preslia 84: 631-645.
https://www.ms-cbs.cz/_publikace/P123Grulich.pdf

Holzel N (2003) Re-assessing the ecology of rare flood-meadow violets (V. elatior, V. pumi-
la, V. persicifolia) with large phytosociological data sets. Folia Geobotanica 38(3): 281-
298. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02803200. https://doi.org/10.1007/
BF02803200

Humphreys AM, Govaerts R, Ficinski SZ, Lughadha EN, Vorontsova MS (2019) Global data-
set shows geography and life form predict modern plant extinction and rediscovery. Nature
Ecology & Evolution 3(7): 1043-1047. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0906-2

Info Flora (2021) Info Flora. https://www.infoflora.ch/en/flora/viola-pumila.html

Korneck D, Schnittler M, Vollmer JR (1996) Liste der Farn- und Bliitenpflanzen (Pteridophyta
et Spermatophyta). Deutschlands. Schriftenr. Vegetationsk. 28: 21-187. [Bonn-Bad Go-
desberg. |

16 Maria Zh. Kaschieva & Nikolay P. Nedyalkov / BioRisk 18: 1-16 (2022)

Natura (2000) site SCI BG0000322 Dragoman http://natura2000.moew.government.bg/
PublicDownloads/Auto/PS_SCI/BG0000322/BG0000322_PS_16_1.pdf

Martin JR, O’Neill FH, Daly OH (2018) The monitoring and assessment of three EU Habitats
Directive Annex I grassland habitats. Irish Wildlife Manuals, No. 102. National Parks and
Wildlife Service, Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland.

NEC (2019) Managing Natura 2000 sites — The provisions of Article 6 of the ‘Habitats’ Direc-
tive 92/43/EEC. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?gid=1548663172672
8curi=CELEX:52019 XC0125(07)

Petrova A, Vladimirov V (Eds.) (2009) Red List of Bulgarian vascular plants. Phytologia Bal-
canica 15: 63-94. http://www.bio.bas.bg/~phytolbalcan/PDF/15_1/15_1_08_Petro-
va_&_Vladimirov.pdf

Pullin AS, Woodell SRJ ( 1987) Response of the fen violet, Viola persicifolia Schreber, to dif-
ferent management regimes at Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve, Cambridgesh-
ire, England. Biological Conservation 41(3): 203-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-
3207(87)90103-0

RUHD (2015) Reporting of the Republic of Bulgaria under Art. 17 of Habitat Directive. State
of nature in the EU Results from reporting under the nature directives 2007-2012. https://
www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-the-eu

RUHD (2020a) Reporting of the Republic of Bulgaria under Art. 17 of Habitat Directive.
State of nature in the EU Results from reporting under the nature directives 2013-2018.
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-the-eu-2020

RUHD (2020b) Reporting of the Republic of Bulgaria under Art. 17 of Habitat Directive
for the period 2013-2018, habitat 6510 CON “Lowland hay meadows”. https://cdr.eio-
net.europa.eu/Converters/run_conversion?file=bg/eu/art17/envxhyhkg/BG_ha_bitats_re-
ports-20190828-114556.xml&conv=589&source=remote#65 1OCON

Tzonev R, Gusev Ch (2020) Guide for identification and effective management of grassland
habitats (pastures, meadows and permanent grasslands) — object of protection and eco-
nomic use in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, Nature Conservation
Series, 34, Sofia.

Volis S (2019) Conservation-oriented restoration — a two for one method to restore both threat-
ened species and their habitats. Plant Diversity 41(2): 50-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
pld.2019.01.002

Whelan RJ (2009) The Ecology Of Fire — Developments Since 1995 And Outstanding Ques-
tions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 115: 59-68. https://ro.uow.edu.au/
scipapers/367/