Cambridgeshire vc29

Recording Guidelines

These are something of a personal view, but may be helpful when recording.

 

Use of iRecord

What you saw: 
In general use the "Stace III" Latin name.  Stace IV names are not yet available for MapMate or the BSBI DDb, so please don't use these for records (they are fine for reports).  Not everything is in Stace III, and sometimes there can be confusion with earlier nomenclature.  As an example Salix x smithiana is Salix viminalis x S. cinerea in the Field Stace, but it is S. viminalis x S. caprea in Stace III.  In these circumstances either be specific, or add an appropriate comment.  Use subsp. rather than ssp.  The Database software is currently a bit variable, but MapMate often requires you to record agg. for a mix of species rather than s.l., which is used for sub-species and it does not use s.s.    For example Hedera helix s.s. (which was Hedera helix subsp. helix) is input as Hedera helix, whereas Hedera helix s.l. is input as Hedera helix agg.   This is not particularly sensible and does potentially remove information from a record.  This restriction may not be necessary once data can be put straight into the BSBI DDb, so if you are unsure, make it as clear as possible and use obsolete formats if they make things clearer.

Where you saw it:
Record a location name and a grid reference. 

Location name:  Try to make the location name as simple as possible.  Depending on the area and nature of the location where you are recording it might be the Parish name (eg Cherry Hinton CP), the name of the nearest settlement (eg Pymoor) or a feature on the map (eg Grunty Fen).  For a smaller area it might be the name of a farm (eg Bridge Farm), lake (eg Gault Hole), nature reserve (eg East Pit LNR) or wood (eg Madingley Wood).  If you name a monad after a site on the OS map, but have records from across the square add [1km sq] after the name (eg TL5755 could be Lark Hall [1km sq]).  Sometimes it is a good idea to combine the broader area and smaller area names (eg Cherry Hinton, church).  If more detail is required put this in the comment, eg the street name or house number.  Beware that many site boundaries are defined differently by different authorities, for example the feature Newmarket Heath is not all in the Newmarket Heath SSSI, nor is it all in the Newmarket Heath CWS, nor is it all in vc29 as the vice-county and administrative county boundaries are different here as well.  It is very important to use the correct site name in these circumstances, though often difficult to find out what the boundaries are.

Grid reference: All recording is now on a monad (1km square) or finer basis, although there is no intention to do a complete monad survey of the county.   For a small site which is no more than a few hundred metres across you could give the centre position to 100 m, eg TL437587, which is Adam's Road Bird Sanctuary, though this might be taken to imply the exact location of the plant.   For a larger site, or one which appears on an OS 1:25,000 map a monad reference would be appropriate.  For a common species, eg Bellis perennis one kilometre resolution is fine, but for something rare (normally one not on the record card, but there are a few exceptions) give the position to 10 m (ie an 8 figure grid reference) or to 100 m if there is a lot of it.  If you are not sure about recording grid references come to one of the CFG or CNHS field meetings. There are many internet sites that allow you to find or plot grid references. One is UK Grid Reference Finder.

Beware that you have to let a GPS settle before recording a position.  Some sites are awkward and may straddle several different monads (or on occasion hectads), eg Madingley Wood lies in two hectads.  An oveall site species list would not need to distinguish, but you should still record each species to the correct monad, and it is worth making separate lists for each significant monad in the site.  NEVER EVER use the SW monad of a tetrad to indicate the entire tetrad.  Do not report 10 figure grid references - your GPS may give positions to this level of precision, but they are not accurate to better than 8 figures unless you are using an expensive high precision differential GPS and sometimes not even then. NEVER use "what three words" to give a position.

The location name is combined with the grid reference so that one provides an approximate cross-check against the other.  It is very easy to swap or omit digits when you are recording a position!

When you saw it:
A simple date is sufficient.  In the spreadsheet it is recorded as day/month/year eg 01/10/2021 but quite a few formats are allowed.  Dates must be precise, so that a year range (eg 2001 - 2004) or month is not acceptable.

Who you are:
I use Jonathan D Shanklin.  Give names when there are fewer than four in a recording group.  When part of an organised event I use "Cambridgeshire Flora Group" or something similar.  Recording the who as "Smith, J" leads to ambiguity - John Smith might be a beginner prone to make mistakes but Joanne Smith might be an expert.

Comments:
Just about anything that might be helpful! These could include: the number of plants seen, their status if this is relevant (eg native, introduced, planted), the habitat (eg damp woodland edge, or steep river bank), a description of the site is particularly helpful if someone wants to re-find the plant (eg west side of B1061 road verge just north of crossing, or east side of hedge), associated plants etc.  For a critical or difficult species a voucher specimen may be needed, or confirmation on site from a BSBI recorder or referee.

Other information:
The status of the species is useful to have, if known.  There is no universal guide to this as yet, although BSBI is developing one.  For trees, shrubs or other perennials I use "Planted" if this is obvious.  For verges or meadows sown with a wild-flower mix I use "Introduced".  "Established" implies that a non-native plant is maintaining itself vegetatively whilst "Naturalised"  implies that a non-native plant is maintaining its population by self-sowing.  Other possibilities are "Alien", "Casual" and "Native".

Spreadsheet:

The MapMate format spreadsheet has the following columns and using this format makes :

Taxon Site Gridref VC Recorder Determiner Date Quantity Method Sex Stage Status Comment
Potentilla argentea Swaffham Prior TL573652 29 GMS Easy   15 Jun 2003           Three plants on old railway between Devil's Ditch and Swaffham Prior

For Cambridgeshire, VC is 29.  The Determiner is the expert who confirms your identification.  The Quantity, Method and Sex are not normally used for botanical field recording.  If in flower, the Stage can be "Flowering".

Please don't:
  • Give multiple Gridrefs or a range of Gridrefs in the Gridref entry.  If the site covers monad or tetrad boundaries please report separate records.  If it is a rare plant give the extent with gridrefs as a comment.
  • Give an extensive description of the Site in the Site entry.  This should be a simple entry, with any detail given as a comment.
  • Use a monad grid reference when you mean the tetrad.

    iRecord and iNaturalist
    The iRecord and iNaturalist apps are a powerful means of recording, but there are some pitfalls before records made with it turn into useful botanical records. Broadly the same guidelines as for old fashioned recording on paper need to be followed (given above), but here I've provided some extra help.  I have only used iRecord occasionaly (once to record a beetle), so much of the following comes from feedback from other recorders, or from having to try and verify records submitted to the BSBI.

    What you saw: 
     There is no need record to a broad group - for example "Buttercup", so only record when you can be reasonably sure of a species.  The app will sometimes give you a choice of potential species, so take care to select the correct one.  iNaturalist is biased towards American species, so be careful not to select these.  Finding a rare plant is the exception rather than the rule.  If you are not sure, do include an image, as this often helps rule out species and sometimes will help with an exact determination.  Try and include flowers and leaves in the image(s).  If you record garden planted species make sure that you note that it is planted.  Generally garden plants are not recorded, though garden weeds can be and are often interesting. 

    Who you are:
    For us to use your record we need to know who you are - this is a vital part of any wildlife record.  This means that we need to know your real name, so that using a pseudonym or nickname is likely to mean that your record is rejected.

    Where you saw it:
    The app will take the grid reference from your built in GPS or phone signal, but on occasion this can be a bit out.  Sometimes you need to wait a little until the position stabilises.  It is important that the location you give matches the grid reference as this provides us with a cross-check.  If you have a map choose a nearby (1 km or closer) place name.  Sometimes there are no features that close, so just use the name of the nearest village or other broad location.  Always record the plant when you see it - if you wait until the end of a long walk or when you get home to put in all your records the plants will be logged to that point, rather than where you actually saw them.  The actual location can be important if you have discovered a rare species and we need to revisit the location for additional information.

    Ideally you should extract your records from the app and send them to me in a spreadsheet as described above.  I can then provide verification and feedback.  The BSBI is developing its own recording app and this may be available later in the summer.

    This page created by Jonathan Shanklin and last revised 2023 May 1