Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

10.13 Surveying
Surveying to establish the exact height of a sample location or other feature can
sometimes be used as a monitoring technique, for example to monitor changes in
the elevation of a peat surface to determine changes in peat volume through time.
More usually surveying is used to establish the relative positions and elevations
of monitoring equipment (for example, dipwell datums) and key features within a
site (for example, habitat boundaries). This information will invariably increase the
aggregate value of site monitoring data as it allows the relationship between various
points across the site to be explored.
The spatial position of features can often be established with sufficient accuracy
using a hand-held GPS, whilst the relative elevation of features can be established
using a simple site levelling kit. These types of equipment can often be borrowed,
and can sometimes be affordable on a modest budget.
10.14 Third party monitoring data
Each of the environmental regulatory organisations – the Environment Agency
(www.environment-agency.gov.uk) in England and Wales, SEPA in Scotland (www.
sepa.org.uk) and NIEA in Northern Ireland (www.ni-environment.gov.uk) – maintains
a programme of environmental monitoring which they are usually happy to provide
details of. The parameters monitored within these programmes are often those
requiring expensive equipment such as solar insulation meters. Other parameters
usually include surface water flows and quality, groundwater levels and quality,
rainfall, air quality and ecological monitoring (e.g. in-stream invertebrate sampling).
The UK regulators also maintain public registers of environment-related licences, for
example groundwater and surface water abstractions and discharges, which can be
inspected free of charge. A fee may be charged for data supply.
Remote sensing data in the form of satellite imagery or aerial photographs can
provide valuable information on temporal changes in the condition of a site.
On a smaller scale, enthusiastic amateurs, for example hobby weather watchers
who often post their data on the internet, can be a useful source of data.
Environment Agency, Bristol, UK provides detailed and practical information on
the design of groundwater and surface water monitoring networks, and some
information on analysis and interpretation of monitoring data.
10.15 Data storage and protection
Monitoring data represents a record of unique historical conditions, and is usually
irreplaceable. Effective data management is therefore an integral and essential part
of the monitoring process.
Monitoring data should be copied as soon as possible after collection to minimise
the risk of loss or damage. Hand-written records should be typed into a computer,
and digital data-loggers should be downloaded, both on a regular basis. Explanatory
notes on the monitoring data (e.g. doubts about the accuracy or precision of the
measurements) should also be entered with the raw data as they are useful when
quality-assuring or analysing the data, and hand-written monitoring records should
be retained for quality-checking purposes. Data that are suspect or obviously false
should be highlighted as such. A record should be made for future reference of any
corrections to data which is obviously false.
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