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BSBI ATLAS 2000
As announced in Newsletter No: 13 the Botany Group will be participating in the BSBI's Atlas
2000 project to remap the national distribution of all our vascular plants on a 10km square
basis. The records in the new atlas will have a different symbol for pre- and post-1987. This
means that for us in Essex any plant lists made between 1962 (the date of the first and last
national atlas) and 1987 will need to be chased up and compiled for each square, as well as
a separate set of post-1987records. Terri Tarpey is organising the recording for the CNHS area
(squares with coarse hatching on map below). Fortunately, many of the records collected far
the Flora of North East Essex are post-1987 anyway, and the six squares (close hatching)
recorded for the BSBI Monitoring Scheme 1987/88 will only need any extras which we may
be able to add by chasing up from a desiderata list. This still leaves us with 33 squares with
sizable chunks of Essex inside them that we shall need to largely re-record from scratch.
To complete the task of re-recording these 33 'pristine' squares we need as many volunteers
as possible to take on either a whole square or part of a square. An initial allocation of squares
will take place at the AGM on the 16 March, so do have a look at the map and see which square
you would like to get involved in. Finally, to mop up any vacant squares the Botany Group will
be meeting (open to any Essex botanist) on 23 March at Tony & Judith Boniface's house (40
Pentland Avenue, Chelmsford) at 3.00pm.
Ken Adams