Integrated Site Assessment Species Records

Integrated Site Assessments are carried out by Natural England staff to assess the condition of notified features on Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and Indicators of Success on Higher Level Stewardship agri-environment schemes. The ISA process integrates surveys for both purposes, so where they co-occur they are usually recorded together. Individual surveys include the recording of a variety of species within SSSI Units and/or Rural Land Register Parcels, as well as other non-biotic measurements such as vegetation structure, which together are used in the assessment of SSSI feature condition, Indicators of Success, or both. Species records are associated with the SSSI units and/or RLR Parcels containing the list of features which are the subject of each part of the ISA survey, so survey 'feature lists' are used to define discrete geographic areas within which the species were recorded. Precise BNG grid references, or eastings and northings, are not recorded for individual species, and the precise extent of the features (usually semi-natual habitats) within the SSSI units and/or RLR parcels is unknown. Each species record is provided with additional attribute information including the list of features assessed, the variable and summary value. Species recorded are mostly vascular plants, often because they are used within ISAs to indicate good or poor habitat condition. Only species that were actually seen are included - there are no 'absence' records. Attribution statement: © Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right [year].