Cambridgeshire vc 29

Recording Guidelines

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

Recording using iRecord, iNaturalist and the BSBI Recording app
The BSBI, iRecord and iNaturalist apps are a powerful means of recording, but there are some pitfalls before records made with them turn into useful botanical records. Broadly the same guidelines as for old fashioned recording on paper need to be followed (see "Traditional recording methods" below), but here I've provided some extra help.  I only use iRecord occasionaly, so much of the following comes from feedback from other recorders, or from having to try and verify records submitted to the BSBI.

Please note that because of the many issues with iNaturalist records (including location names, use of pseudonyms, means of contact with recorder etc) they will only be verified if all aspects clearly try to follow these guidelines or the record is of particular interest. Don't worry if you make a mistake with the id - this is often correctable from the photo.

What you saw: 
There is generally no need record to a broad group - for example "Buttercup", so only record when you can be reasonably sure of a species. The exception is when you recognise something as being unusual, but can't be certain of the species. Other exceptions are things like Dandelions or Daffodils, where there is a broad umbrella of species. The apps 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, even to sub-species.  Try and include flowers and leaves in the image(s).  If you record garden planted species make sure that you note that they are planted ('Intentionally introduced').  Generally, introduced garden plants (whether in a garden or ornamental bed) are not recorded, though garden weeds can be and are often interesting.  Ideally always include an image, particularly if you are a beginner. If you use an id app to identify the plant make this clear in a comment. If you are using the BSBI app give the status information for something that is clearly or possibly introduced.

For most species there is no need to make multiple records in the same site or monad. For plants that are on the county RPCC (shown as orange with RPR in the BSBI app) there is merit in having multiple records, though the RPCC does include many plants that are common in the county. In general an RPCC plant that is present in more than 250 monads only needs recording once. A species (or sub-species) that is present in between 25 and 250 monads can be recorded every 100 metres or so. A species (or sub-species) that is present in fewer than 25 monads should be recorded every 20 metres or so, unless the plant happens to be common on the particular site. We hope that in future the BSBI app will give this information. For records that the app claims is a new hectad record always include an image unless it is actually common and readily identified. iRecord uses the NBN to check for hectad records and as this is not up-to-date it can produce spurious queries.

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 may mean that your record is not used. There are some circumstances where the use of a pseudonym is appropriate. The BSBI app does have your real name and it may be possible to trace it in iRecord or iNaturalist.

Where you saw it: Record a location name and a grid reference, which must be independent of each other. 

Location name:  Try to make the location name as simple as possible.  If you are recording a designated or well defined site use the site name. Otherwise, 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). Sometimes it is a good idea to combine the broader area and smaller area names (eg Cherry Hinton, churchyard).  It can also be helpful to narrow down to a management unit, eg Wicken Fen SSSI, compartment 5. 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 vc 29 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. Do not include habitat descriptors in the site name; these belong as a comment. Similarly do not give a site as "small green by the chemists", which belongs as a comment.

Examples of good location names:

• Cambridge

• Cambridge, Coldham's Common

Examples of bad location names:

• Green next to the chemist shop [Only local knowledge would help with verification and this should be a comment]

• Lane near the burial ground [Slightly better, but doesn't say the village name and again should in as a comment]

• uoc west g4 [An abbreviation followed by a survey indicator, gives minimal clues as to the location]

• Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire [Shows automatic location completion on the basis of the grid reference]

Grid reference: All recording is now on a monad (1km square) or finer basis and we assume that if you are using app recording you will have location tracking on, so that positions will to about 10 m.   Otherwise 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 Adams 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 if the app GPS is not functioning.  For a common species, eg Bellis perennis one kilometre resolution is fine, but for something rare (normally one not on the vc 29 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. 

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 get one or the other of these wrong and we have seen records with a location name that put them in a nature reserve, but a grid reference in the pub!

The apps may take the grid reference from a combination of your built in GPS, wifi or phone signal, and on occasion this can be a bit out.  Different phones may use different systems to determine the position and for some the first choice is an approximate wifi position. If you are in an area where your phone can pick up wifi (eg Eduroam in a University setting) switch off wifi. Sometimes you need to wait a little until the position stabilises. Note that whilst your GPS may give positions to 1 m precision, they are not accurate to better than 10 m unless you are using an expensive high precision differential GPS and sometimes not even then. If you are using the BSBI app it is worth your listing all your observations for the day when you get home and checking that they all appear where you expect on the zoomable map.

Records with a location that is more of a habitat description are likely to be ignored. It is important that the location you give matches the grid reference as this provides us with a cross-check.  If you are on a specific site, give the site name. If only recording in a monad and 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 may be logged to that point, rather than where you actually saw them. This does create a problem on a group excursion, for which as yet there is no answer, though with the BSBI app it is possible to degrade the position accuracy to 100 m or worse. The actual location can be important if you have discovered a rare species and we need to revisit the location for additional information. It is not standard practice to give locations as postal addresses, though it is true that a post code may give cross-checking of a grid reference. iNaturalist generates an artificial location name using a post code from the position unless you put in an actual location. iRecord will make helpful suggestions, but you should still enter a simple location name. A record that gives a location such as "England" or "Cambridgeshire" will be rejected as this is not sufficient to allow any cross-checking.

Records from iRecord and iNaturalist are being transferred to a holding area on the BSBI database on an iregular basis.  Before they are transferred to the main area, they have to be verified. Records that don't meet the above guidelines are likely to remain in the holding area and may not be used. We will provide feedback if you have used a valid name and we have your email address.  The BSBI app is available for desk top input and as an app for field use.

Verification and validation

What you should do.

• Check that the species is what you intended.
• Check that the location and grid refence complement each other and conform to the guidelines.

What we will do.

• Check that the species is plausible from the known distribution. If your record has an adequate image we will be able to confirm your id or make a re-determination. When determination of the species is not possible we may accept it if reasonably likely, otherwise it may be rejected.
• Check that the plant is where you said it was. We may reject records that have an inadequate grid reference or location.
• We will try and help you by sending an email or adding comments requesting further information or asking you to make changes.
• Add valid records to the BSBI DDb

Traditional recording methods

What you saw: 
In general use the "Stace III" Latin name.  Stace IV names are not yet available for MapMate, so please don't use these for records sent in via spreadsheet (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 Stace II, 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.  If you are unsure, make it as clear as possible and use obsolete formats if they make things clearer. The BSBI Recording app allows you to enter Common or Latin names, and uses Stace IV as primary,  but will accept Stace III names. In a garden or an ornamental bed only record "wild" plants. Do not record those plants that have been deliberately introduced unless they have escaped from where they were put.

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).  It can also be helpful to narrow down to a management unit, eg Wicken Fen SSSI, compartment 5. 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 vc 29 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 (1 km square) or finer basis, and whilst there was no intention to do a complete monad survey of the county this is effectively in progress.   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 Adams 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 overall 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, or in the BSBI app use "Introduced deliberately".  For verges or meadows sown with a wild-flower mix I use "Introduced" to distinguish plants that have grown from seed, but the BSBI app does not make this distinction.  "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 :

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".