Dorset Biodiversity Information System
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- Frequently asked questions
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What is DBIS?
The Dorset Biodiversity Information System has been established by the Dorset
Environmental Records Centre as a means to provide local authorities with relevant
information on conservation sites and species in Dorset.
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What does DBIS include?
DERC have established agreements with individual local authorities to supply GIS
datasets including: Sites of Nature Conservation Interest; Local Nature Reserves;
Regionally Important Geological Sites; Conservation Verges; and a
Taxon Layer which indicates the presence
of rare and protected species. These can be used alongside layers for Sites of Special
Scientific Interest and international site boundaries.
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What do I do if I find a rare or protected species on a development site?
Use the info tool to see the data on that record. The data will tell you when to
consult a statutory agency i.e. English Nature (Natural England) or the
Environment
Agency. It may also suggest who to contact for advice (e.g.Dorset Wildlife Trust).
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If there is no statutory consultee or advisory contact what do I do?
There is not a consultee or advisory contact for every record at present. This is a new system which will continue to develop. There are plans to produce advice notes for all the taxon groups but it will take time to put this into place. In the meantime if you want more information about a record,
contact DERC with the record number.
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There is a species record on a development site but the location details do not match. What do I do?
The GIS data set has been generated from a database which stores most records as 6
figure grid references. This means that most records are accurate within 100m but the
symbol may not be in exactly the right place. If there is a discrepancy between the
information in the location field (e.g. “Manor Crescent”) and the position of the
symbol (e.g. located on Manor Road) the location information is probably more accurate.
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How do I see the Advice Notes?
Written advice notes have been developed for some groups of protected species. Use
the hot-link tool to click on the symbol for a record and it will take you immediately
to the start of the appropriate advice note.
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The Taxon Layer shows a bat record but the biodiversity checklist says no bats have been found. What do I do?
Consult English Nature.
They have more detailed information about the original record and can assess the situation
better.
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Why does the Taxon Layer not include data from an earlier environmental assessment on this site?
There are several possible answers:
- The layer only includes relevant records (i.e. protected, rare, threatened and BAP
species). If there were no important species found nothing will show.
- The Taxon Layer will highlight gaps. If there have been EIA or environmental
information gathered and submitted with planning applications, or LA rangers and
countryside wardens have gathered information it can all come back to DERC to be
incorporated. The Taxon Layer will be updated annually.
- All data goes through a verification process and it can take 12-18 months to
get data onto the database. It then needs to be extracted and transformed into
GIS data.
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What are the status codes?
When there is a code in a box it shows why the record was included. So if there
is a code under protected status e.g. W&C (1981), this is a record for an animal
or plant protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
We have not developed our own coding system, but use the status codes already in
common use with the addition of a few more specific to Dorset. The full list of codes
can be seen on the Taxon Groups page.
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Why is it called a Taxon Layer?
We are calling this a taxon layer rather than a species layer because it holds very
few records for named species. The reasons for this are:
- Planning Officer and Registration staff are not ecologists and we cannot expect
you to have the same level of knowledge, or the ability to interpret the data as the
consultees;
- There are some issues with sensitive data. It would be foolhardy for DERC to
suddenly make all our data, in all its detail, widely available. There could be
serious repercussions for some species (disturbance to sites, specimen collectors,
etc.) and it may lead to some of our main data suppliers refusing to pass on further
information if they feel we are not respecting the data and treating it with
sensitivity; and
- DERC does depend upon income generated by site and species data searches, often
for consultants.
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Can I give information about a site to a developer or his/her consultant?
Yes, but we would ask you to recommend that they
contact DERC for a standard data
search for the development site and the buffer zone. Many developers and environmental
consultants already contact DERC directly before submitting an application. We have
developed a package which provides more detailed species and site information, together
with explanations of the codes used and recommendations on which organisations to contact
for further advice.
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How do I find a suitable consultant?
Dorset Biodiversity Officer Group (DBOG) have produced a list of environmental
consultants, who have contacted either English Nature or the Natural Environment
Team at Dorset County Council, indicating that they would like to be included on
this list. This list can be viewed at:
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Dorset Environmental Records Centre