Report Cover Vol I - Clare County Library

The County Clare Wetlands Survey Patrick Crushell & Peter Foss 2008
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Appendix 4: Key to data fields in the
CWS GIS and Site Database
As part of the CWS mapping project two main databases were created to hold site information.
The first was the CWS GIS Database (ArcView 9.2 GIS software package) to hold site related information
on each polygon, point or linear feature mapped. Data held in this database was transformed into
MapInfo format at the end of the project period for use by Clare County Council.
The second was the CWS Site Database (Filemaker Pro 8.0 software package) which held some of the
information in the GIS database, but allowed for easier sorting of site records, additional data input on
sites and data analysis of records.
This main CWS site database was supported by a second smaller Bibliography database which held
information on reports, survey and GIS data sets which were consulted during the project. This database
was used to create the report bibliography.
Data from both the GIS and Site database is readily exported into an Excel spreadsheet which allowed
data exchange between the CWS GIS database and main CWS site database.
A series of database layouts, containing related site data, form the main structure and content of the
CWS site database. These layouts were used when adding site related data to the database. These
layouts (indicated by green buttons along the top of the CWS database window) and the site information
they hold are:
Title layout: Opening title page layout of database displayed when FileMaker Pro application is launched,
with title copyright statement and enter button.
Main Data Entry Layout: Layout containing basic site details including site names and codes (i.e. CWS
name and code; other names and codes used by third party groups for site), total site area, location data
and information on site designations.
Habitat, Species & Threats Layout: Layout containing site details on the wetland habitat type(s)
present; Biological interest and rare species data on sites and where this information has been published.
This layout additionally recorded information on site damaging operations recorded with an overall
severity scale.
Habitat Area Layout: Layout containing site details on the extent of the different wetland habitat
type(s) present on the site (recorded in ha or length (km) for linear features).
Site Description Layout: Layout containing site descriptions obtained from various third party sources
(e.g. NPWS, IPCC etc.).
An explanation of the data fields used in both the GIS database and CWS site database are provided
below. Name in bold is the name applied to database field and seen when accessing the database in
browse mode, the underlined name is the actual field name within database (used when exporting data).
The appearance of the CWS GIS, site and bibliography databases is presented in Appendix 5.
4.1 Data fields in the CWS Site database
Main Data Entry Layout
CWS Site Code (CWS Site Code)
A unique site code created for the site as part of the CWS project.
CWS Site Name (CWS Site Name)
The name of the wetland site, based on specific name for site proposed by third party sources.
Total Site Area (ha) from Literature (Total Site Area (ha) from Literature)
The total site area in hectares as reported in Literature source.
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