Biological Recording and Mapping

• Origins
• Watsonian Counties and Vice-counties
• The Mapping of Biological Records
• View Maps of the LNHS Area
• Biological Recording Links to other websites

Origins

The story of biological recording in our area goes back several centuries. As early as 1629 Thomas Johnston compiled a detailed species list for Hampstead Heath following a botanical ramble he had undertaken with a group of nine companions. They are an early example of a long and thriving tradition of naturalists, many of them amateurs (in the best sense of the word - people with a passion for, and deep knowledge of, their subject) who over the years have made an enormous contribution to scientific knowledge of the natural world. LNHS members continue this tradition.

Watsonian Counties and Vice-counties

In the mid nineteenth century, a botanist called H.C.Watson divided Britain into a series of areas for the purposes of botanical recording. These were based on the boundaries of counties as they existed at that time. In many cases he split counties up into smaller chunks called 'vice-counties'. Because it gave a measure of stability, this geographic system became widely used for wildlife recording purposes (not just by botanists). It continues to be used to a certain extent because it allows modern records to be compared with historic records going back a century or more. For example, the Watsonian county boundaries are used as the basis of the 'sectors' in the London Bird Report.

Because of many changes to the boundaries of administrative counties in the intervening years, many Watsonian county boundaries no longer closely match the modern county boundaries. This is particularly true of the London area, where parts of counties such as Kent and Surrey have been swallowed up by Greater London, while the Watsonian county of Middlesex no longer exists at all as an administrative entity.

The Mapping of Biological Records

This illustration shows the distribution in 2km by 2km squares of the Wayfaring Tree, Viburnum lantana, in the LNHS area, closely following the chalk soil. (From 'Flora of the London Area' edited by Rodney Burton, © LNHS 1989).

Grid References

In the twentieth century it became the practice to map the location of biological records with more precision by using the Ordnance Survey six-figure Grid references. From the 1960s onwards many national and local distribution atlases were published, representing natural distributions using dots in squares of equal size. These used varied scales, sometimes 10km by 10km (OS grid squares), sometimes 2km by 2km squares (known as 'tetrads') and sometimes other scales.

Mapping Software

With the advent of modern desktop PCs, databases, DTP and digital mapping software it is easy to store large amounts of data electronically and assign records to 1km squares within the OS grid and this is now the norm. The original LNHS area, 20 miles around St Pauls, has been mapped against OS 10km grid squares and tetrads to form a polygon for mapping purposes - sometimes called the 'LNHS polygon'. It contains 856 tetrads. A rectangle in the centre, 8 miles by 5 miles centred on Charing Cross, is designated 'Inner London' for recording purposes.

Reference: Earp, MJ: 'The Origins of the Inner London Recording Area'. London Bird Report 54, 1989, p138.

View Maps of the LNHS Area

These maps may take some time to download, especially over a dial-up internet connection. Each map will open in a new browser window; to return to this page, close the window. All maps are printable. Click on each map to enlarge.

- A map of the LNHS recording area can be viewed or downloaded HERE.
- A map showing the Vice-counties covered by the LNHS area can be viewed or downloaded HERE.
- A map showing the main towns in the LNHS area can be viewed or downloaded HERE.

Biological Recording Links

If you click on any link below you will navigate away from this site; use your browser 'back' button to return here. LNHS is not responsible for the content of any of these sites.

National Biodiversity Network: NBN Gateway
www.searchnbn.net/index_homepage/index.jsp

Biological Records Centre (BRC)
www.brc.ac.uk

Dipterists Forum: Diptera recording schemes
www.dipteristsforum.org.uk

Greenspace Information for Greater London (GIGL) - an open space and biodiversity records centre for the Greater London Area
www.gigl.org.uk

Hogwatch (Hedgehog Recording Scheme)
www.hogwatch.org.uk

London Ladybird Survey/Ground Beetle Recording (Paul Mabbott)
http://www.ladybird-survey.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

National Amphibian and Reptile Recording Scheme (NARRS)
www.narrs.org.uk

Fungal Records Database of The British Isles
http://194.203.77.76/fieldmycology

National Federation for Biological Recording
www.nfbr.org.uk

Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society (BWARS)
www.bwars.com

Molewatch : aims to record and map sightings of molehills and moles
www.ptes.org.uk/molewatch/index.html

Moths Count : aims to encourage interest in moths and establish a National Moth Recording Scheme
www.mothscount.org

Kent and Medway Biological Records Centre
www.kmbrc.org.uk

Birdweb: - BTO/RSPB's portal to bird surveys work, including links to the Breeding Birds Survey and the Birdtrack scheme (successor to Migration Watch)
www.bto.org/birdweb/index.htm

Tracking Mammals Partnership - a collaborative initiative involving 25 organisations with interests in UK mammals
www.trackingmammals.org

Herbaria United - The website of the Botanical Collection Managers Group (BCMG), provides links to on-line UK herbarium resources. Includes a useful tool that will convert OS grid refs to vice-counties.
http://herbariaunited.org

Biodiversity Action Reporting System (BARS): - Reports the status of BAP species and habitats
www.ukbap-reporting.org.uk

Marine Life Information Network - Information about organisms that live in marine waters, sublittoral zones and brackish areas, and recording schemes that cover them.
http://www.marlin.ac.uk/rml/signpost.php

The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) - a merger of the long-running Butterfly Monitoring scheme (BMS) with Butterfly Conservation's co-ordination of 'independent' transects.
www.ukbms.org

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