The purposes of survey and monitoring

Survey is used to assess the status of shingle and shingle vegetation. This is undertaken through habitat surveys and the like. Whilst strictly speaking it is not monitoring as such it is an essential prerequisite for any future attempts to assess change and the influence of policy and management action on this habitat. In particular surveys attempt to:

1. establish the location and extent of coastal vegetated shingle;
2. identify the condition of individual sites (included in this are Sites of Special Scientific Interest and candidate Special Areas of Conservation). Because nearly all shingle vegetation is included within Annex 1 habitats of the EU 'Habitats' Directive, base-line monitoring is required to confirm its status This will add to the data already available and will be the precursor to monitoring for other purposes.

In its turn monitoring is necessary to:

1. assess current condition of Sites of Special Scientific Interest;
2. to record the success of habitat restoration, re-creation or creation;
3. to examine the on-going effects of coastal management works on coastal vegetated shingle;
4. to measure the impact of flood management schemes on shingle habitats, particularly where creation/enhancement works have been carried out. See the Guide "Coastal Habitat Restoration, towards good practice".