Planet WGSW-24010 User Manual page 54

inter-surveyor differences but also an erroneous MTR.
Detached macrophyte material, except for actual floating macrophyte species such as Lemna sp
and Azolla, should be disregarded. If a macrophyte is stranded above the water, eg in low flow
conditions, then it should not be recorded on the standard checklist. A note of the species, should
however, be made in the 'Comments' section along with observations of the amount stranded and
any obvious reasons for stranding.
Where sites are being compared, as in UWWTD monitoring, specimens attached to artificial
structures should only be recorded if a similar structure is present in both/all sites included in the
comparison. A note should always be made of recorded specimens which were attached to
artificial structures.
Once all macrophyte species in the survey length have been recorded wade/walk back along the
survey length, specifically observing the amount of each species present and the overall
percentage of the channel covered by macrophyte growth (4.5.5). On the standard field sheet
(Appendix 5), enter the appropriate Species Cover Value (SCV, see 4.5.5) next to each
macrophyte species and the estimate of the overall percentage cover of macrophytes.
4.5.2 Sur vey technique: non-wadeable sur vey sites
At sites where the channel is narrow (about 5m or less wide) but the water is too deep to wade,
if the channel macrophytes can be clearly seen by walking along both banks and using a grapnel
to retrieve macrophyte species for identification then this is sufficient. In narrow channels it may
be impractical to use a boat.
At sites where the water depth is too great to wade and flow is slow, a small boat should be used.
Safety guidelines should be followed.
The boat used should ideally be light and very stable for ease of transport and operator safety.
Rowing or paddling is the most useful form of propulsion while surveying as this causes minimal
damage to the macrophytes and allows greater manoeuvrability throughout the survey length.
Traverse the river in a zigzag manner inspecting all the habitat areas frequently. A minimum of
4 angled crosses of the channel in each 10m should be undertaken so that the maximum distance
from the surveyor to the channel surveyed is 2.5m (Figure 1). On wide rivers it may not be
necessary to cross the channel as frequently.
While traversing the channel, record the species present and think about the percentage of the
survey area covered by each species. As for wadeable sites, include both MTR-scoring species
and non-scoring species, take particular care to examine all small niches within the survey site
2
to look for small (£25cm ) patches of species, but disregard detached material except for floating
species. Record specimens attached to artificial structures only if a similar structure is present
in other survey lengths with which the results will be compared and make a note of recorded
specimens which were attached to artificial structures. Use sampling aids as appropriate (4.5.3).
After recording all macrophyte species present in the survey length, return along the length
specifically observing the cover provided by each macrophyte species and considering the overall
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