River Macrophytes Database
Introduction
The JNCC River Macrophytes Database (RMD) is a Microsoft Access
database constructed to house data on the plant communities of
rivers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It includes data from
over 7000 survey sites and is the most comprehensive database of
its kind. Data have been collected from all over the UK between
1977 and the present day, following the methods of Holmes et
al. (1999).
The macrophyte survey method records aquatic and marginal plants
in a 500 m-long survey section of river. Species from the
river channel and the margins/base of the bank are recorded
separately on a three-point scale of relative abundance and
percentage cover. A standard check-list of species is used to aid
recording. The field data can be used to classify the plant
community as described by Holmes et al. (1999), and
the database has a facility that allows keying-out of the community
to sub-type level. This plant community classification has been
used as the basis of river SSSI selection (see chapter 6 of
Guidelines for Selection of Biological SSSIs).
The database also holds a small amount of invertebrate and fish
data.
The RMD is an ‘active’ database (i.e. survey records can still
be added). However, with a new standard method of river plant
survey now being adopted by the UK conservation agencies (i.e. the
LEAFPACS method), it is likely that less surveys will be added in
future, and it may develop into more of a 'legacy' database.
In the past the database was made available to the public
through requests for CD copies, but in 2011 it was made available
through this website.
Documentation
Accompanying the database are three main background documents,
which are available in the download folder below, and also
individually for reference: a User Guide (PDF, 720kb),
a Technical Manual (PDF,
442kb), and a Data Capture
Spreadsheet Guidance document (PDF,
516kb) There is also a ReadMe file (PDF, 7kb) and a
Data Capture
Spreadsheet.
The database consists of two MS Access .mdb files:
macrophytes_data.mdb which contains the macrophyte
survey data; and macrophytes_code.mdb, which
contains a set of database queries to help extract
information. These two files must be kept within the same
folder for the database to work. The database has been
incorporated into a computer program to facilitate its use
For information on how to install and run the program (and
therefore access the database), please refer to the
User Guide. which also
contains information about how to use the database to find the
information you require.
The Technical Manual includes
the technical information about the system architecture, data
tables and security.
The same data may also be downloaded in an MS Excel
spreadsheet, although you must have access to MS Excel
2007 or later, due to the large number of records in some of the
worksheets. If you open the spreadsheet in earlier versions of
Excel you will not be able to view all the data (i.e. >65,000
rows).
The Data Capture Spreadsheet
Guidance Document provides information on how to enter
new data into the Data Capture Spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet is compatible with the database structure and has
been provided so that any new macrophyte survey data may be
submitted in a format suitable for facilitating updates of the
master copy of the database.
Gaps in the Data
Please note that there are currently gaps in the ‘site’ table in
the database (and therefore the spreadsheet) where some sites have
been entered without information on their country or grid
reference. Therefore, database queries or spreadsheet filtering
based on these incomplete fields/columns may produce incomplete
results. Please contact JNCC using the details below for further
information.
References
Holmes, N.T.H., Boon, P.J. & Rowell, T.A. 1999.
Vegetation communities of British rivers: a
revised classification. Joint Nature Conservation
Committee, Peterborough.
Terms and Conditions of Use
All users are required to read and agree to the terms and
conditions set out in the end-user
licence prior to use of the database. To download the
database please click the link below.
Download
By downloading the database you are agreeing to our terms and
conditions (see above). Please note the River Macrophytes
Database is a large file (139MB) which will take around 5
hours 45 mins to download with a 56 Kb modem.
Download the River Macrophytes Database and supporting
documentation.
The documents provided in the download include:
The macrophytes survey data:
macrophytes_code.mdb
The macrophytes database forms and queries:
macrophytes_data.mdb
A spreadsheet version of the information exported from the
database: RMD_Export_20110331.xlsx
The 'read me' latest information file:
readme.txt
The documentation files: User_Guide.pdf;
Technical_Manual.pdf
The data capture spreadsheet:
Data_Capture_Spreadsheet.xls
The data capture guidance file:
Data_Capture_Spreadsheet_Guidance.pdf
Contact
If you have any queries regarding any of the information above
or about the River Macrophytes Database itself, or wish to submit
new macrophyte survey data for inclusion in the master copy of the
database, please contact the Database Manager:
.