Key Site Project
The key site project aims to develop an agreed set of national criteria that may be applied to determine key dragonfly and damselfly sites throughout Britain
Key site Criteria
These key site criteria aim to determine sites important for maintaining breeding populations of nationally or locally important, or a high diversity of damselfly and dragonfly species. By being based on information readily gathered using the RA83 recording card, it is hoped that this will promote the recording of evidence of breeding and abundance of dragonfly species and contribute towards increasing monitoring of species and identification of key sites throughout the country.
in Glen Affric, Scotland
What are Key Sites?
Key sites are those that have records from the last ten years of either important or of a wide range of species. The most important sites that we know hold large, confirmed breeding populations, these are recognised as 'Confirmed Key Sites'. Until we have better information and can confirm that species are successfully breeding, the site can be labelled as a 'Probable Key Site'. If there are only records of adults, with no evidence of breeding, the site is a 'Possible Key Site'. Therefore, recorders are encouraged to 'upgrade' a site's status by getting more detailed information on breeding and abundance. Both Confirmed and Probable key sites may be further split into Nationally Important, where the site contains an abundant breeding population of a nationally important species or Locally Important, where a site contains either an abundant breeding population of a locally, but not nationally, important species or a high diversity of species.