What is an NVC Survey?
An NVC Survey is the National Vegetation Classification survey. Its purpose is to provide a botanical survey of a particular site. These are usually required when there is a large-scale project taking place, examples of this would be a major road, a power station, or if when gas pipelines are being installed. It also provides baseline information for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Its beginnings go back to the mid-seventies when the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) first commissioned one in order to provide a thorough and detailed classification of all British plant families. The results of this particular survey were documented within a series of 5 books “British Plant Communities.”
Do You Need an NVC Survey?
As you can imagine it takes a long time to carry out and involves a lot of work. For smaller projects, it may not be necessary, but for larger ones, if you’re looking to carry out a large-scale project requiring planning permission, you’ll need an NVC Survey first. You may be planning your project on land that is SSSI, which is Site of Special Scientific Interest.
You will need a fully trained and experienced botanist, and the survey although detailed, can be carried out in a single day depending on how big your site is. The NVC report will include a comprehensive list of the species found and how abundant they are.
NVC Surveys Take Time
Sometimes an NVC survey can take many days to complete and will need lots of additional information about both the plant communities and their composition, and any information concerning the structure of your site. Weather conditions and the type of habitat your site has will largely determine the length of time it will take to complete. Identifying each species can take time.
Find an Experienced Botanist or Ecologist
You’ll need a qualified plant ecologist/botanist to carry out the work and prior to booking your report it may be a good idea to see a copy of their CV and testimonials from other satisfied clients. They need to be suitably qualified to carry out an NVC survey and have sufficient experience. Make sure you find out all you need to know before you book your survey. One helpful hint is that botanists are usually members of an association such as the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI), or an ecologist will be a member of the British Ecological Society. Remember to ask them about this.
Ellendale Environmental – Comprehensive and detailed NVC surveys
If you’re looking to have an NVC survey carried out on your site and you’re waiting for planning permission, then why not ask one of our team of experienced botanists and ecologists if they’ll carry out a detailed NVC survey on your behalf? We’re qualified and trained to carry out your survey and we’ll be more than happy to discuss it at greater length with you so we can decide exactly what you need. Get in touch today so we can get things started.