Biodiversity

	Introduction
	Of Lincolnshire's original 100,000 hectares of wild wet fenland, only 55 hectares now remain - a loss of over 99.99%.  This loss is responsible for the decline and extinction of much of the flora and fauna dependent upon these diverse wetland habitats.
	Greater Water-parsnip  Sium latifolium
	This nationally endangered aquatic plant was found throughout Lincolnshire's fenland regions in the 1930s, but when surveyed in 2000, was found to survive in only five remaining localities within the county: Baston and Thurlby Fen is Lincolnshire's most important stronghold.
	Fenland Diving Beetle  Dytiscus dimidatus
	This large 'diving beetle' is now part of a relic population of rare and threatened fenland species.  In 2005, Dytiscus dimidatus was known only at three sites within the U.K: Baston and Thurlby Fens in Lincolnshire, The Great Fen in Cambridgeshire, and the Somerset Levels.