Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

– On-going measurement of the effect of current or historical management, both
to assess success and to refine further management.
10.2 Designing a monitoring strategy
Basic principles for designing a monitoring strategy
Taking a hand-augured soil
sample and describing the
vegetation on Insh Marshes,
Scotland, to establish a
baseline for more intensive
monitoring of the site
hydrology. (J. Schutten)
– The purpose of monitoring is to inform and help focus positive
management to achieve the optimum results.
– Identifying what information is required for effective management,
and agreeing clear objectives, will help determine what, where, how,
when, how often and for how long monitoring should be undertaken.
– In general terms, any good quality monitoring data is useful, and
always better than nothing, but identifying what does NOT need
monitoring will help focus resources on priority issues.
– Usually the more parameters which are monitored, and the longer
the monitoring period, the better.
– Effective monitoring strategies should include details of how data
will be recorded, stored, managed and evaluated.
– All monitoring strategies should be reviewed and modified in the
light of experience or changes in circumstance.
10.2.1 Setting objectives
The essential foundation for any monitoring strategy is clear objectives which take
account of what information is required to help inform management, and how the
results of the monitoring programme are likely to be used. For example, monitoring
might seek to establish whether there is a causal link between a nutrient source and
an area of fen which exhibits signs of nutrient enrichment, or to establish the effects
of grazing management.
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