Plants

The Icelandic red list classification of vascular plants is based on the threat categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Red List of the Natural Science Institute of Iceland follows these criteria.

The NSII Red List of Vascular Plants 2018 is the most recent inventory of threatened vascular plant species in Iceland. Assessment is as per the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria from 2017.

The NSII Red List for Plants (Válisti plantna, in Icelandic) was first published in 1996 and included vascular plants; Bryopsida; benthic algae classified as red algae (Rhodophyceae), yellow-green algae (Tribophyceae), golden algae (Chrysophyceae), brown algae (Phaeophyta), and green algae (Chlorophyta); and lichens with the exception of crustose lichens. Species assessment for the 1996 Red List was based on the IUCN criteria from 1994.

An updated version of the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria was approved in 2000 and published in 2001. Following the publication of Vöktun válistaplantna (Fjölrit Náttúrufræðistofnunar No. 50, authored by Hörður Kristinsson, Eva G. Þorvaldsdóttir, and Björgvin Steindórsson) in 2007, on monitoring of redlisted and protected plant species, 79 species vascular plant species were assessed based on the 2001 IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. A new version of the Red List for Vascular Plants 2008 was then published.