Standing Waters Database Home Page

The statutory nature conservation agencies in Scotland, England and Wales have a long history of carrying out routine aquatic plant (macrophyte) surveys of lakes. This involves identifying and estimating the abundance of emergent, submerged, floating-leaved, and free-floating macrophytes that grow in or near the water. The Standing Waters Database contains macrophyte data that were collected during the NCC/SNH Scottish Loch Survey Project. Botanical surveys were carried out in over 3,000 lochs in Scotland, and some data are also stored for lakes in England and Wales.

The database contains macrophyte species lists for each surveyed lake; mainly vascular plants but also charophytes and filamentous algae. At each lake, macrophytes were recorded on a DAFOR scale of abundance (dominant, abundant, frequent, occasional or rare), and sketch maps were drawn to show the distribution of macrophytes around the lake. (These sketch maps are stored within the database as PDF files.) Surveyors also took a water sample providing water chemistry data for pH, alkalinity and conductivity. Other details such as surface area, altitude and links to designated site information are also provided.

Using this dataset, a classification of British lakes has also been developed, based upon the composition of their macrophyte communities. Eleven distinct lake groups (A-J) have been indentified, and full descriptions of these are available on the Lake Group page.

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