A rare wild flower is being re-established in Devon fields thanks to some four-legged helpers. A conservation charity called Planflife has employed donkeys as “ecosystem engineers”to encourage the return of the endangered small-flowered catchfly.

The catchfly was once found all across Britain but now it only grows in small areas of Wales and the south and west of England. Experts blame its decline on modern farming practices. The flower flourished around the edges of sandy fields where farmers grew their crops, but because of weedkillers that were used to remove “unwanted” plants, and fertilisers to boost crop yields, its habitat has largely disappeared.

Plantlife teamed up with the Donkey Sanctuary, a charity that looks after donkeys in the UK and around the world. It owns several farms across Devon and the UK, where it takes care of hundreds of rescued donkeys, as well as maintaining habitats for other wildlife. More than 20, 000 seeds have been scattered on fields at the sanctuary’s main Devon farm, and it is hoped that many will grow into plants this summer. They will provide food for threatened bird species such as linnets, yellowhammers and skylarks. Plantlife then aims to get the donkeys themselves involved, testing whether catchfly seeds benefit from being trampled into the ground as the donkeys take their exercise. Many plants have seeds that must be pressed into the soil in order to germinate.

“We’re incredibly grateful to partners like the Donkey Sanctuary who are helping these fantastically rare wild flowers come back from the edge of extinction,” Cath Shellswell of Plantlife told The Guardian newspaper. “We look forward to seeing small-flowered catchfly return and we are working with the sanctuary to ensure that this tiny plant has a thriving future. ”

【小题1】Why are donkeys employed in Devon fields?

A．To work in the fields.	B．To restore the catchfly.
C．To avoid extinction.	D．To raise crop yields.

【小题2】What caused the decline of the catchfly’s population?

A．Soil loss.	B．Water pollution.
C．Climate change.	D．Modern agriculture.

【小题3】How do donkeys help the catchfly come back?

A．By pressing its seeds into the soil.	B．By working the land.
C．By providing nutrition for it.	D．By spreading its seeds.

【小题4】What is the best title of the passage?

A．Donkeys help fields flower again.	B．Farmland becomes a natural habitat.
C．The biodiversity forms on Devon farms.	D．The catchfly has a thriving future.