Habitats
The UK supports a rich assemblage of terrestrial and
freshwater habitats, which are home to many thousands of wildlife
species. Amongst these are different types of dunes, fens,
grassland, heathland, marsh, rivers, woodland, etc. – JNCC also
provides advice on
Marine habitats.
Habitat protection,
designation & advice
A wide range of UK habitats are subject to
various protective measures. A number of International Conventions,
European Directives,
and pieces of UK
Legislation apply to them, including:
These have been formulated into a number of
policy measures and formal site designations. These include
Sites/Areas of Special
Scientific Interest (SSSIs/ASSIs), which is the fundamental
statutory mechanism for protecting sites of ecological interest in
the UK. Detailed Guidelines for the selection of
biological SSSIs are produced by JNCC.
Many UK habitats are listed on Annex
I of the EU Habitats Directive. JNCC provides advice and
assistance to government to enable it to meet its obligations to
conserve habitats under this Directive. In particular, the JNCC has
the role of co-ordinating the identification and submission
of possible Special
Areas of Conservation (SACs) to the European Commission.
Detailed information on the selection of SACs in the UK is included
in JNCC's SAC Selection pages. The
JNCC has also worked with the UK country nature conservation
agencies to secure an agreed approach to reporting on the Conservation status of Annex I
habitats and their component SACs.
Advice on habitat
conservation issues is also required to support the implementation
of the EC Water
Framework Directive and the Ramsar Convention in the UK.
Under the UK Biodiversity Action
Plan, the JNCC has assisted in the design of Habitat Action Plans
(HAPs) and the selection of BAP priority
habitats.
Habitat survey, monitoring & classification
The JNCC supports habitat
conservation by advising on survey methodologies and maintaining
common standards for habitat classifications. Information is
provided through publications (e.g. on Phase 1 survey and the
National Vegetation
Classification (NVC) as well as on-line resources such as
interactive distribution
maps for various NVC types.
Providing advice on habitat surveillance and
monitoring is an important part of the JNCC's work. We
work closely with the country agencies on guidance for
the monitoring of habitat, species and earth science interest
features on protected sites via Common Standards Monitoring.
We are also helping to develop surveillance and monitoring
initiatives in the wider countryside with a view to promoting
effective habitat and species conservation measures, e.g. by
advising on the development of habitat inventories and contributing
to the development, implementation, and assessment of results
from the Countryside
Surveys.
How we work
JNCC habitat advice
work is undertaken by staff based in JNCC Peterborough,
supported by inter-agency Lead Co-ordination Networks (LCNs)
covering coastal, freshwater, lowland grassland, lowland heathland,
lowland wetland, upland and woodland habitats and soils. Each of
these is chaired by a specialist based in one of the country
agencies and supported by an
LCN Network Officer. Other
specialist areas of work on habitats are covered by the Air
Pollution LCN