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

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, information 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 successful 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”).