County Wildife Site Criteria for Cornwall Appendices

LOWLAND MEADOWS: CommentsData SourcesPhase 1County Wildlife Site (CWS)surveysNational Trust (NT) surveysVarious NVC surveysCommentPhase 1 maps were produced in 1983 and the results aresomewhat inconsistent, but their accuracy is sufficient to accorda grassland to this PHT with low probability.The CWS surveys mainly date from 1980-1987. They give someadditional useful information relating to this PHT.The NT and other NVC surveys often produce useful insightsinto small areas, particularly on the coast.The DefinitionGoodReliability of PHTInterpretationAverageCommentAny NVC surveys produce clear and unequivocal results andPhase 1 surveys too should produce sufficient information,especially if accompanied by target notes.ExplanationThere are two methods that may be reliably used to identify thisPHT: Phase 1 habitat maps and NVC communities. The Phase 1results are somewhat inconsistent, but their accuracy is usuallysufficient to accord a grassland to this PHT with low probability.Unfortunately, the age of the Phase 1 maps and the fact thatthey are of uncertain accuracy (there is no way of separatingMG1 from MG5 for example), eventually led us to abandon theuse of Phase 1 maps by themselves.Where we did have access to NVC data then there was noproblem. However, there are relatively few grasslands thathave been assigned to an NVC community and it is extremelytime consuming to try to derive one from what are usuallylimited species lists.Overall AssessmentPoorThe CWS surveys did have useful information because dry herbrichneutral grasslands usually only are MG5 in this county, sothere is little doubt over their identity. Nevertheless, the age ofthis source made it rather irrelevant.CommentsWe believe that there are a relatively large number of MG5grasslands in the county that have either not been surveyed, orwhere the results are not publicly available. Some of them maybe above the minimum mappable unit (MMU).We have insufficient information to map this PHT. Three areashave long been known and they have been mapped, but thereare certainly more. At least 22 ha of MG5 grasslands on theCaradon coast have not been mapped and there areunquestionably other coastal areas in the county which alsohold MG5 grasslands. We do not know the number and extentof those additional sites and considerable fieldwork would beneeded to complete the inventory.Appendix 4 - Information Relating to Priority Habitat TypesCounty Wildlife Sites Criteria