Guidelines for selection of biological SSSIs
Rationale, Operational approach and criteria, Detail guidelines for habitats and species groups
JNCC
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is the forum through which the three country nature conservation agencies, the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), deliver their statutory responsibilities for Great Britain as a whole and internationally.
Summary
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the
statutory adviser to Government on UK and international nature
conservation. Its work contributes to maintaining and enriching
biological diversity, conserving geological features and sustaining
natural systems. JNCC delivers the UK and international
responsibilities of the four country nature conservation agencies -
Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, the
Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England and Scottish Natural
Heritage. JNCC, originally established under the Environmental
Protection Act 1990, was reconstituted by the Natural Environment
and Rural Communities Act 2006. JNCC, working with the nature
conservation agencies, is the focus for the guidelines for the
selection of biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSIs).
The nature conservation agencies have a duty under the
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended, to notify any area
of land which in their opinion is 'of special interest by reason of
any of its flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical
features'. Such areas are known as Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSIs). The notification is made to owners and occupiers,
local planning authority and the Secretary of State, who may make
representations or objections to the nature conservation agencies
regarding the notification. Any representation or objection made
must be considered by the nature conservation agencies before a
decision is made by them to confirm the notification.
In 1989 the then Nature Conservancy Council published
guidelines for the selection of biological SSSIs. Since 1991 JNCC
has been the focus for the production and revision of the
guidelines.
The biological guidelines set out general principles upon
which the nature conservation agencies reach judgements regarding
special scientific interest. These principles are supplemented by
details of wildlife habitat types and species groups.
In Northern Ireland the designation Areas of Special
Scientific Interest (ASSIs) is the equivalent of the SSSIs. The
responsibility for the identification and designation of these
sites rest with the Environment and Heritage Service, Northern
Ireland. View the
Guidelines
for the selection of biological ASSIs.
Review of the Guidelines for the selection of biological SSSIs:
timetable
The Guidelines for Selection of Biological SSSIs were originally
published by the Nature Conservancy Council in 1989. Since then, a
series of revisions have been made in the form of additional or
revised chapters. However, the underlying rationale and operational
approach have remained intact and broadly fit for purpose.
Nonetheless, there is recognition that some updating is needed to
take into account changes in governance, legislation and wider
approaches to nature conservation being developed within the UK BAP
and country biodiversity strategies.
These guidelines are under review.
Download Guidelines for the selection
of biological SSSIs in sections - Part A
Part A: Rationale (PDF, 613 kb)
Foreword included in part A
- The purpose of the guidelines
- The objective of the SSSI system within an overall nature
conservation strategy
- The concept of special scientific interest
- Rationale for evaluation and selection of a countrywide series
of biological SSSIs
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Download Guidelines for the
selection of biological SSSIs in sections - Part B
Part B: Operational approach and
criteria (PDF, 794 kb)
- Defining the basis for selecting the national network of
sites
- The principles of site evaluation and selection
- International importance
- Assessment of site value
- Boundary of definition, size of area and site integrity
- Evaluation of habitat mosaics
- Evaluation of species-group combinations
- Total extent of SSSIs
- References for parts A and B
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Download Guidelines for the
selection of biological SSSIs in sections - Part 2
Introduction (PDF,
2mb)
Chapter 1 Coastal and Marine
habitats (PDF, 213
kb)
1a Coastlands
Table 1 Habitat selection units for
coastlands
Table 2 Coastal habitat selection units and
their NVC equivalents
1b Intertidal habitats
1c saline lagoons:
Chapter
2 Woodlands (PDF, 213 kb)
2a Woodlands - general
Table 3 NVC - woodland and scrub
communities
Table 4 Extent and localisation
of British woodland Stand
Types
Table 5 Main semi-natural
structural types of tree layer in British
woods
Table 6 An approach
to integrating differing woodland classification
schemes for SSSI
selection
Table 7 A preliminary
attempt to indicate the general relationship between
the Stand Type classification and for
woodland
Table 8 Field measures of
the NCR criteria for British woods
2b Veteran trees
Chapter 3 Lowland
grasslands (PDF, 79
kb)
Table 9 NVC - lowland grassland
communities
Chapter 4 Lowland heathland
(PDF, 102 kb)
Table 10 Heathland
classification, distribution and selection
requirements
Chapter 5 Non-montane rock
habitats (PDF, 101
kb)
Table 11 Geographical variation in the
main floristic features of limestone
pavements
Chapter 6 Freshwater
habitats (PDF, 205 kb)
Table 12 TWINSPAN classification
of standing water sites –
submerged
and floating vegetation
Table 13 Key to standing water
types (submerged and floating
species)
Table 14 Physical characteristics
of standing water site types
Table 15 NVC communities most
common in emergent fringes of standing
water site
types
Table 16 Classification of ditch
vegetation types
Table 17 Key to river
types
Chapter 7 Fens (PDF, 220
kb)
Table 18 NVC - communities of
minerotrophic mires
Table 19 Description, habitat
conditions and range of fen
communities
Chapter 8 Bogs (PDF, 265
kb)
Table 20 Mire
microforms
Table 21 NVC - bog communities and
subdivisions (Rodwell)
and bog microtopes and communities (Lindsay et al.)
Chapter 9 Upland
habitats (PDF, 570 kb)
Table 22 Synonymy of Birks &
Ratcliffe and NVC upland vegetation
types
Chapter 10 Artificial
habitats (PDF, 61 kb)
Table 23 Types of artificial
habitat
Chapter 11 Vascular plants
(flowering plants, ferns and their allies) (PDF, 175
kb)
Table 24 Red Data Book species of vascular
plants
Table 25 Nationally scarce species of
vascular plants
Chapter 12 Non-vascular plants
(PDF, 97
kb)
Table - Nationally rare species
& Table Nationally scarce species
Chapter
13 Mammals (PDF, 129
kb)
13a Mammals - general
Table 26 Status and distribution of British
mammals
13b Water
vole
Chapter
14 Birds (corrected) (PDF, 301 kb)
Appendix A Criteria for Ramsar Sites and
Special Protection
Areas
Appendix B An estimate of numbers of
birds breeding and wintering in Britain
Table 27 Abundance estimates of British
breeding and wintering
birds
Appendix C Breeding bird assemblages of
different
habitats
Table 28 Breeding bird assemblages of
different
habitats
Appendix D Regional population
densities in the uplands
References (Chapter
14)
Chapter 15 Reptiles and
amphibians (PDF, 60 kb)
Table 29 A scoring system for the
selection of sites with
assemblages
of
amphibians
Chapter 16 Freshwater and estuarine
fish (PDF, 75 kb)
Table 30 British freshwater, anadromous
and estuarine fish and their
distribution
Chapter 17 Invertebrates
(PDF, 139 kb)
17a Invertebrates-
general
17b
Butterflies
17c
Dragonflies
Chapter 18 Fungi (PDF, 73
kb)
Chapter 18a Grassland
fungi
Acknowledgements (PDF, 6
kb)
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Please cite as: JNCC, Guidelines for selection of biological SSSIs