1. - the third Atlas of Britain and Ireland
Pete Stroh & Kevin Walker; BSBI
The survey
Systematic recording of all native and non-native plants across the whole of Britain and Ireland. Fieldwork began in 2000 and will carry on until the end of 2019
Volunteers are recording the presence of plants at 2 x 2 km (tetrad) resolution or better in all 3, x 10 km (hectad) squares that make up Britain and Ireland
Volunteers have already collected an astonishing 15 million records since 2000 (see graph below), but there are plenty of locations where help is still required
The aims
To provide up-to-date distribution maps for all native and non-native species in the wild in Britain and Ireland
To better understand how our flora has changed over the long ( ) and short ( ) term
To better understand why our flora has changed, taking into account recording behaviour, human pressures and environmental drivers
To provide volunteers with opportunities for learning, recreation and involvement in citizen science
To provide a robust and up-to-date evidence base for use in research, conservation, policy-making and education.
The outputs
A popular book on the British and Irish flora covering ‘why we study plants’, ‘what shapes our flora’, ‘how and why has our flora changed’, and ‘why the results of the Atlas 2020 survey are relevant and important’
An online atlas with updated distribution maps and accounts for all native plants and the majority of naturalised non-natives – with a variety of map formats available
A robust dataset for use in research, conservation, policy-making and education.
Charting the number of records collected in each year by BSBI volunteers and others. In total, you have contributed just over 15 MILLION records since 2000, and numbers will rise for 2017 when all the data collected have been transferred to our Database
Left to right: Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis), Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera), Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa), and Green-flowered Helleborine (Epipactis phyllanthes): are these and other species expanding their range northwards?
Find out more
To learn more about this project, and how you can help in the final two years, contact your Country Officer:
Maria Long (Ireland):
Jim McIntosh (Scotland):
Paul Green: (Wales):
Pete Stroh (England):