D0820/003/02 - Phase 2 Lowland Grassland Survey of Wales (Site records held digitally on the 'Grasslands' copy of Recorder 2002 database (West Gwynedd).)

Subject National Vegetation Classification
Abstract A detailed survey of plant communities in semi-natural lowland grassland vegetation. One of the major strategic initiatives of Countryside Council for Wales (CCW). Sites vary in size and complexity from small uniform hay-meadows of less than 1 ha to extensive wet-dry pasture systems covering over 100 ha.
Species Groups Clubmoss [17], Fern [12], Flowering Plant [12537], Horsetail [119], Lichen [14], Liverwort [278], Moss [2250], Stonewort [2]
Geographic Coverage/Site Name General: Wales
Dataset Owner Natural Resources Wales
Dataset Contact Monica Jones
Date Range 1987 - 1998
Total Records 15229
Restriction Details Standard Restrictions Only
Acknowledgements Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru/Natural Resources Wales
Expand/Collapse Further Details
Original Title Phase 2 Lowland Grassland Survey of Wales
Temporal Coverage Notes April 1987 to Dec 2004. The survey was started by Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) and continued since 1991 by CCW.
Data Storage Methods The dataset consists of the following:- a) Summary report for each Area of Search (two sub-divided to make 14 when completed) available on paper or digitally (MS Word). Reports include an appendix containing quadrat data on paper or CD. b) Site records held digitally on the 'Grasslands' copy of Recorder 2002 database. Records include species records and Domin values from quadrats and summary of vegetation. (Previously this data was held in a Paradox database). c) Spatial information (polygon & point data) held digitally in 5 MapInfo layers/tables: Site boundaries; vegetation polygons (with linked to non-geographic table of mosaics); location of quadrats; location of photos; location and details of target notes. Also hand-drawn habitat map of each site held on paper in 'site pack'. d) Site pack containing site details, names and addresses of landowners; NVC assessment; site description; quadrat data. Held as paper copy and digitally in MS Word and Excel/Quattro Pro (quadrat data). e) Site photographs held as hard copies only.
Module Description Site records held digitally on the 'Grasslands' copy of Recorder 2002 database (West Gwynedd).
Purpose To characterise the semi-natural lowland grassland vegetation of Wales and to provide a systematic conservation assessment of the sites surveyed.
Capture Methods Surveyed all forms of semi-natural neutral, acidic and calcareous grassland in lowland Wales, as well as wetter Molinia (purple-moor grass) and Juncus (rush) pasture communities and associated soligenous mires. Community definition follows the National Vegetation Classification (NVC). At each site, homogeneous stands of vegetation were identified, sampled with 2 x 2 m quadrats and mapped onto Ordnance Survey base maps or aerial photographs at 1:5000 scale.
Verification/Validation Procedures The dataset has been extensively validated and verified. The main limitation of the data is their age - habitat composition may change over time due to successional trends, agricultural treatments or even planned developments. A record of a vegetation type in the data is therefore no guarantee that it is still extant on the ground.
Data Collected by Countryside Council for Wales, Nature Conservancy Council
Dataset Category Category 03: Dataset originates from other trusted source
Dataset Status Dataset Complete
Data Entry Project Completion Date N/A
Date Imported 14/05/2013