How to set up cheap and easy monitoring
Botanical and hydrological monitoring does not have to be expensive (Photo credit: Mike Dodd).
Monitoring of both botanical communities and soil-water levels is really important in understanding how your site is changing in response to these parameters. It does not have to be difficult or expensive and can tell you a lot of valuable information. Additionally, if you monitor in a standard way, we can compare your data to the national database. We can then help to put your site into the national context of other similar sites, to see how species-rich it is, whether it is becoming too wet, dry, eutrophicated or under managed.
A plant list is provided for recording purposes.
To find guidance on cheap and easy monitoring for both plants and water levels monitoring protocols are available:
Generic plan of botanical quadrat arrangement for monitoring floodplain meadows
