Upper Teesdale SSSI Condition Assessment of the Vascular Plant Assemblage

Aim: The survey must provide an updated CSM condition assessment of the Vascular Plant Assemblage across Upper Teesdale SSSI Objectives • Confirm presence or absence across all units with historic records where no current (2023+) data exists. • Professional judgement should be applied to interpret the relevant direct population attributes and provide an overall assessment of population viability within each unit. • Assess the suitability of the supporting habitat for each population, using ecological judgement and relevant indirect attributes to evaluate how well current conditions meet the species' requirements. • Provide a unit level summary describing the status of each species and a judgement on its current trajectory (e.g., increasing, stable, declining, lost). • Address evidence gaps to support maintaining the required VPA assemblage score (current score is 2500; target is 2700) • Record details of any 'pressures' observed at the site which may impact on the condition of the designated species. • Suggest where current management is working and, where it is not, why that might that be. • Provide comments and recommendations for improving or updating the monitoring specification