Glossary

2011 Data Zone

Data Zones are composed of Census Output Areas large enough to present statistics accurately without fear of disclosure and small enough that they can be used to represent communities.

‘A’ weighting dB(A)

The human ear does not respond uniformly to different frequencies. A-weighting is commonly used to simulate the frequency response of the ear.

Abutment

The structure that supports the end of the bridge or supports and retains the bridge approach.

Access

The means by which to approach or enter land, property and assets.

Accessibility

The ability of users to access land, property, infrastructure, businesses and community facilities.

Acid grassland

Grassland that occurs on acidic soils (pH less than 5.5).

Aggregate

Materials used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, or recycled crushed concrete.

Air Quality Management Area (AQMA)

A non-permanent designation created if monitoring reveals that statutory air quality thresholds are being exceeded or will be exceeded in the near future.

Algae

Single or multi-cellular organisms that photosynthesise.

Allocation

A proposal for land for housing, industry or other uses within a Local Plan that identifies a specific area of land to be developed within the time period of the plan.

Alluvial

Loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, which has been eroded, reshaped by water in some form, and redeposited in a non-marine setting.

Amber list species

Species with unfavourable conservation status in Europe or showing moderate declines or rare or localised in their distribution.

Ambient Noise

The all-encompassing sound at any point in time.

Amenity grassland

Intensively managed and regularly mown grasslands that are typical of golf courses, sports pitches, playing fields and lawns. These grasslands are typically of low diversity and limited wildlife and landscape value.

Amenity value

Defined as the relative pleasantness of a journey and relates in particular to the exposure of pedestrians and others to traffic.

Ammocoete

Larval stage in the life cycle of lamprey.

Amphibian

Any cold blooded animal of the class Amphibia which includes frogs, toads and newts.

Ancient Tree

An ancient tree is exceptionally valuable attributed with great age/size/cultural heritage/biodiversity value as a result of significant wood decay and the habitat created from the ageing process. All ancient trees are veteran trees with very few trees of any species reaching the ancient life-stage.

Ancient Woodland

Areas of land that appear as wooded on maps dated pre-1750 (in Scotland) and are considered likely to have been continuously wooded from this date.

Ancient Woodland Inventory

Aims to list all probable ancient semi-natural woodlands on a county basis together with those woodlands in other ancient categories of lesser woodland nature conservation interest.

Appropriate Assessment

Determination by an identified competent authority (Scottish Government, informed by SNH) of likely significant effects associated with a development on a European Protected Site. Required by law under Regulation 48 of the Habitats Regulations (1994), implementing Article 6(3) of Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC).

Aquifer

A body of rock through which appreciable amounts of water can flow.

Arable land

Land that is or can be used for growing crops.

Assessment

An overall term for description, analysis and evaluation.

At-grade

At the same level.

Attenuation

Increase in duration of flow hydrograph with a consequent reduction in peak flow.

Attribute

Characteristics of an environmental receptor.

Authority area

The area administered by a local authority for example, District Council, City Council or Unitary Authority.

Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT)

Calculated by dividing the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) score of a sample by the number of scoring families that contributed to the BMWP score of that sample.

Bark

A term usually applied to all the tissues of a woody plant lying outside the vascular cambium.

Barrier effects

Features such as roads which may impact ecological communities through restriction of movement and habitat alteration, sub-dividing populations with demographic and possibly genetic consequences.

Baseline

The existing conditions which form the basis or start point of the environmental assessment.

Basic Payment Scheme (BPS)

A safety net payment for farmers and crofters that supplements their main business income whilst also delivering environmental and other benefits by requiring recipients to meet certain farming practices and farm in a sustainable way.

Bedrock

Hard rock that lies beneath a superficial cover of soils and sediments.

Biodegradable

Capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms and thereby avoiding pollution.

Biodiversity

Biological diversity, or richness of living organisms present in representative communities and populations.

Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)

Sets objectives, along with measurable targets for the conservation of biodiversity.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

An approach to development that ensures that habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than before the development and measured in standardised biodiversity units.

Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP)

A scoring system for measuring water quality using species of macroinvertebrates as biological indicators, based on the variability in sensitivity of invertebrate groups to different pollutants/pollutant types. Pollution-sensitive taxa are assigned a higher score than pollutant tolerant taxa. The higher the sum of individual taxon scores, the better quality invertebrate communities and the better the water quality.

BoCC

Birds of Conservation Concern

Bog

An area of soft, wet, peaty ground.

Broadleaved woodland

An area of woodland with predominantly deciduous tree species (less than 10% coniferous trees in the canopy).

Bryophyte

Phylum of non-flowering plants, with little or no vascular tissue; includes plants such as true mosses and liverworts.

Buffer

A natural, undisturbed strip surrounding a development or land disturbance activity or bordering a stream or permanent water body.

Bund

An embankment that can be used to minimise noise or alternatively be built around a structure to contain the contents in the event of spillage.

Burn

A small stream.

Buttress zone

The region at the base of a tree where the major lateral roots join the stem, with buttress-like formations on the upper side of their junction.

Catchment

The area contributing flow to a point on a drainage system.

Circular Economy

A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (of make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible; extract the maximum value from resources while in use; recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of life; and keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times.

Census Output Area

The smallest geographical unit used for releasing small area statistics from the Census.

Channel morphology

Physical characteristics of stream channels, such as width/depth ratio and sinuosity, and types of pattern e.g. braided, meandering, straight.

Chronic disease

A long-term health condition that typically lasts for one year or more and requires ongoing medical attention or limits daily activities.

Community

Assemblage of interacting populations that occupy a given area.

Community Conservation Index (CCI)

A conservation indexing protocol for summarising aquatic macroinvertebrate data obtained from inland flowing and still water sites.

Community land and facilities

Land, buildings and infrastructure providing a service/resource to a community, e.g. open spaces, village greens, allotments, village halls, healthcare and education facilities.

Community severance

The extent to which members of communities are able (or not able) to move around their community and access services/facilities.

Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO)

A legal document giving the government (Scottish Ministers) power to compulsorily purchase the areas of land necessary for construction of the scheme.

Condition

An indication of the physiological vitality of the tree. Where the term ‘condition’ is used in an arboricultural report, it should not be taken as an indication of the stability of the tree.

Coniferous woodland

An area of woodland with predominantly coniferous tree species (less than 10% deciduous trees in the canopy).

Conservation

Preservation or restoration of the natural environment and wildlife.

Conservation Area

Area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. Designated under section 61 Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

Construction Exclusion Zone

Area based on the Root Protection Area (in square metres) to be protected during development, by the use of barriers and/or ground protection.

Contaminated land

Land in such condition by reason of substances on or under the land that significant harm is being caused, there is a significant possibility of such harm being caused or pollution of controlled water is being, or likely to be caused’.

Construction materials

Primary, recycled / secondary and renewable sources of materials required for constructing a project.

Construction, demolition and excavation waste

Arisings and waste from the demolition of buildings and structures, site preparation and clearance, remediation, excavation and construction activities.

Contracting Parties

Partnership or organisation which enters into a binding agreement with one or more other contracting parties.

Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e)

Carbon dioxide equivalent (abbreviated as CO₂e) is a metric used to compare the emissions of various greenhouse gases, based on their global-warming potential (GWP), by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of CO₂ with the same GWP. For example, the GWP for methane (CH₄) is 25, and for nitrous oxide (N₂O) it is 298. This means that an emission of 1 tonne of CH₄ is equivalent to an emission of 25 tonnes of CO₂ and an emission of 1 tonne of N₂O is equivalent to 298 tonnes of CO₂.

Core Path

A right of way designated by a Local Authority as being of importance to maintain access and leisure provision.

Couch

Above-ground otter shelter.

Crown/Canopy

The main foliage bearing section of the tree.

Crown Lifting

A term used to describe the removal of limbs and small branches to a specified height above ground level.

Culvert

A metal, wooden, plastic, or concrete conduit through which surface water can flow under or across roads.

Deadwood

Branch or stem wood bearing no live tissues. Retention of deadwood provides valuable habitat for a wide range of species and seldom represents a threat to the health of the tree. Removal of deadwood can result in the ingress of decay to otherwise sound tissues and climbing operations to access deadwood can cause significant damage to a tree. Removal of deadwood is generally recommended only where it represents an unacceptable level of hazard.

Decibel (dB)

The range of audible sound pressures is approximately 0.00002 Pa to 00 Pa. Using decibel notation presents this range in a more manageable form, 0 dB to 140 dB.

Deciduous

Trees and shrubs that shed their leaves annually.

Demography

The studying/science of the characteristics of populations, such as size, growth rate etc.

Designed Landscape

A designed area of landscape which is identified in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes (jointly compiled by SNH and Historic Scotland).

Detention basin

A dry area for temporarily storing water which delays its flow downstream. Includes some water quality benefits. Usually part of SuDS (drainage design).

Dieback

The death of parts of a woody plant, starting at shoot-tips or root-tips.

Diffuse pollution

Contamination and pollution arising from many dispersed and different sources. These sources are often individually minor, but collectively may be significant.

Discharge regime

The rate of flow of a river at a particular moment in time, relative to volume and velocity.

Displacement

To move something from its natural environment.

Disposal

Any operation which is not recovery, even where the operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy.

Do-Minimum (DM)

The base scenario for assessment purposes, where there are no modifications to the existing road network. May also refer to the minimum modifications, which will necessarily take place in the absence of a proposed scheme.

Do-Something (DS)

The ‘with proposed scheme’ scenario for assessment purposes,

Drey

The most common squirrel nest type. Comprises a round ball of twigs, leaves and bark. Frequently built close to tree trunk or in branch forks to provide shelter.

Driven shooting

The driving of birds by beaters towards guns for sport. The guns are stationed in pre-determined positions. 

Earthworks

Works created through the moving of quantities of soil or unformed rock.

Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW)

A qualified ecologist who supervises construction sites, ensuring that ecological impacts are minimised and that the law relating to protected species etc. is complied with.

Ecological receptors

Living organisms, habitats, or natural resources that could be impacted by the construction or operation of the proposed scheme.

Ecology

The branch of biology concerned with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

Ecosystem

A biological community of organisms interacting with one another and their physical environment.

Effect

The result of change or changes on specific environmental resources or receptors.

Element

A component part of the landscape or environment (e.g. roods, hedges, woodlands).

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

The process by which information about the potential environmental effects of a project is evaluated, mitigation measures are identified, residual environmental effects are identified and significant environmental effects are reported.

Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR)

Document provided by the Developer to the Competent Authority, containing environmental information required under Article 5 of Directive 85/337/EEC as amended and The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017.

Ephemeral flow

A flow that lasts a very short time.

Fen

A wetland that, like a bog, has organic soil. In contrast with bogs, fens receive most of their water from the surrounding groundwater, and consequently can be either acidic or alkaline, depending on the surrounding earth. They support a greater variety of plants than bogs, but are often still dominated by peat.

Fill

Material deposited by man in ground depression or excavated area.

Floodplain

Land adjacent to a river, which is subject to regular flooding.

Flora

Referring to plants of a particular region or habitat.

Flow regime

Combinations of river discharge and corresponding water levels and their respective (yearly or seasonally) averaged values and characteristic fluctuations around these values.

Fluvial geomorphology

The study of landforms associated with river channels and the sediment processes which form them.

Footprint

The geographical extent of an ecological impact.

Foraging

Searching for food or provisions.

Fragmentation

Breaking up of an organisms habitat into smaller fragments that may vary in size. 

Freshwater

Bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids.

Gabion

A cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or something sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping.

Geomorphology

The branch of geology concerned with the structure, origin and development of topographical features of the earth’s crust.

Geophysical survey

Geophysical survey is a non-intrusive pre-construction archaeological evaluation technique that exploits a variety of physical or chemical characteristics of rocks and soils etc, in an attempt to locate underground features of archaeological interest. Types of geophysical survey include magnetometer survey, magnetic susceptibility survey and resistivity survey.

Glacial Till

Glacial till is that part of glacial drift which was deposited directly by the glacier. It may vary from clays to mixtures of clay, sand, gravel and boulders.

Glaciofluvial

Pertaining to streams fed by melting glaciers, or to the deposits and landforms produced by such streams.

Green list species

Bird species with no identified threat to their population status.

Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)

A gaseous compound that absorbs infrared radiation and traps heat in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are usually expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e).

Ground Investigation

Exploratory investigation to determine the structure and characteristics of the ground. The collected information is used to establish or predict ground and groundwater behaviour during, and subsequent to, construction.

Groundwater

Water below the surface of the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil.

Habit

The overall growth characteristics, shape of the tree and branch structure.

Habitat

Term most accurately meaning the place in which a species lives, but also used to describe plant communities or agglomerations of plant communities, as used, for example in a Phase 1 Habitat Survey.

Habitat fragmentation

Describes the breaking up of an organisms preferred environment/habitat. Occurs naturally through geological processes that alter the layout of the physical environment over long periods of time, or through human activities, such as land conversion. 

Habitats Regulations Appraisal (HRA)

The process by which certain plans or projects are assessed which could affect the integrity of European sites. The report is used to inform an Appropriate Assessment (AA) under the requirements of the Habitats Directive.

Habitats Directive

EC Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora.

Hazard Beam

An upwardly curved part of a tree in which strong internal stresses may occur without being reduced by adaptive growth; prone to longitudinal splitting.

Hazardous waste

Defined in line with Article 3(2) of the Waste Framework Directive (Council Directive 2008/98/EC) as: ‘waste which displays one or more of the hazardous properties listed in Annex III’ of the Directive.

Health determinants

Personal, social, economic and environmental factors which determine the health status of individuals and communities.

Health outcome

The health status of an individual, group or population, attributable to a planned intervention (e.g. a project).

Health profile

Statistical picture of the baseline health conditions and trends within an area.

Heathland

Uncultivated land with sandy soil and scrubby vegetation.

Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV)

Vehicles with 3 axles (articulated) or 4 or more axles (rigid and articulated).

Hibernacula

Structures used by animals to hibernate through the winter, such as log piles, rock piles, vegetation piles, old mammal burrows, tree root complexes and buildings.

Hibernation

Extended period of torpor undertaken during winter.

Highways England Water Risk Assessment Tool (HEWRAT)

A Microsoft Excel application which assesses the effects of routine road runoff and accidental spillage risk to receiving water features.

Holt

Deep underground otter shelter.

Human health

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Hydraulic

Of, relating to, or operated by the force of liquid in motion.

Hydrocarbon

A chemical compound of hydrogen and carbon.

Hydrogeology

Branch of geology dealing with occurrence, distribution, and effect of groundwater.

Hydrological

The exchange of water between the atmosphere, the land and the oceans.

Hymenoptera

Taxonomic order of the Insects which includes ants, bees and wasps.

Impact

Any changes attributable to the proposed scheme that have the potential to have environmental effects (i.e. the causes of the effects).

Impermeable

Material that does not allow fluids to pass through it.

Improved grassland

Grasslands that have been so modified by fertilisers, drainage or grazing that they have lost most of the species expected in unimproved grassland.

Incidental sighting

Casual observation of a plant or animal of one or more species recorded by whilst performing a non-relevant ecological survey.

Inert waste

Waste which meets one or more of the following criteria:

1) that does not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological transformations;

2) that does not dissolve, burn or otherwise physically or chemically react, biodegrade or adversely affect other matter with which it comes into contact in a way likely to give rise to environmental pollution or harm to human health; and

3) where its total leachability and pollutant content and the ecotoxicity of its leachate are insignificant and, in particular, do not endanger the quality of any surface water or groundwater. See Directive 1999/31/EC and Council Decision 2003/33/EC.

Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP)

Scottish Government document which sets out why we need to invest, how we invest and what strategic, large scale investments we intent to take forwards within each sector over the next 10 to 20 years.

Inter-bedded

Alternating layers of different materials in a section of bedded rocks.

Interim Advice Note (IAN)

Guidance notes issued by Highways England which should only be used in connection with works on motorways and trunk roads.

Invertebrate

An animal without a backbone.

Key construction material

Construction materials which, by weight, constitute the majority of material required to deliver the scheme.

LAeq

Equivalent Continuous Sound Level. A notional steady sound level which would cause the same A-weighted sound energy to be received as that due to the actual, possibly fluctuating, sound level over a given period of time.

Land bank

The stock land with planning permissions but where minerals development has yet to take place.

Land Capability for Agriculture (LCA) Classification

The LCA classification is used to rank land on the basis of its potential productivity and cropping flexibility. This is determined by the extent to which the physical characteristics of the land (soil, climate and relief) impose long term restrictions on its use.

Landfill capacity

The known, forecast or estimated remaining landfill void space, either regionally or nationally.

Landform

Combination of slope and elevation producing the shape and form of the land surface.

Landscape

Human perception of the land, conditioned by knowledge and identity with a place.

Land-take

Temporary or permanent acquisition of land which is necessary to construct and operate the proposed scheme and associated infrastructure and to undertake the essential environmental mitigation measures.

Lateral connectivity

Hydrologic connectivity is defined as the condition by which disparate regions on the hillslope are linked via subsurface water flow. Lateral refers to the spatial dimensions of riverine/riparian/floodplain habitats.

Latrine

Dung pit left by a badger.

Lepidoptera

An order of insects that comprises butterflies and moths.

Lichen

A group of complex organisms, which are formed from the symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga.

Lidar

Light Detection and Ranging, a technology that uses laser light to measure distances and create high resolution models of the environment.

Listed Building

Building included on the list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest and afforded statutory protection under the ‘Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997’ and other planning legislation. Classified categories A-C.

Lithology

The study of rocks, with particular emphasis on their colour, texture, and composition.

Local Landscape Character Area (LLCA)

An area outlined as having distinct characteristics based on landscape features. Derived from regional landscape studies available from SNH.

Macroinvertebrate

An animal without a backbone that can be seen with the naked eye, for example, snails, waterfleas, shrimps or insects.

Macrophyte

An individual alga large enough to be seen easily with the unaided eye.

Made ground

Ground comprised of material deposited by man i.e. not natural.

Magnitude

Size, extent, scale and duration of an impact.

Marshland

Low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation; usually a transition zone between land and water.

Mass balance

A method to match materials input (i.e. quantity of site-won materials and imported reused and recycled materials as a proportion of total materials consumption and use) with materials output (i.e. quantity of surplus materials and waste that are reused, recycled or recovered offsite as a proportion of total waste generation) with within a predefined system boundary where materials flow into or out of the system. In this case the system boundary is the first study area.

Meadow

An area of grassland that has is normally grazed by livestock and/or used for growing hay.

Migration

The movement (of an animal) from one habitat to another according to the seasons.

Mineral extraction

The removal of a naturally occurring solid formed through geological process that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure and specific physical properties.

Mineral resource

Natural concentrations of minerals in or on the Earth’s crust that are or may become of economic interest because they are present in such form, quality and quantity that there is the potential for eventual economic extraction. Generally, a mineral resource is known to exist within the boundaries outlined by BGS geological mapping.

Mineral sites / mineral safeguarding sites

Operational extraction sites or mineral sites specifically identified / allocated in strategic planning documents as those that will be mined or extracted.

Minor Deadwood

Dead wood of a diameter less than 25mm and or unlikely to cause significant harm or damage upon impact with a target beneath the tree.

Mire

General term for all peat-forming ecosystems; bog, fen, carr, muskeg, moor and peatland (does not include marshes as these are non-peat-forming and are seasonally flooded).

Mitigation

Measure to avoid, reduce or offset potential adverse impacts.

Moraine

Any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions through geomorphological processes.

Morbidity

The state of having a disease or medical condition and/or the incidence and prevalence of diseases in a population.

Mortality

The state of being subject to death and/or the number of deaths in a population.

National Vegetation Classification (NVC)

A system to describe British vegetation types, whereby each vegetation type has a different ‘code’.

Native

A species occurring in its normal geographic range (not introduced).

Non-motorised users

Walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.

Non-prime land

Agricultural land of Land Capability for Agriculture (LCA) classes 3.2 to 7.

Notable species

Species which are below Red Data Book species in terms of threat status.

Notable Trees

Notable trees are usually mature trees which may stand out in the local environment because they are large in comparison with other trees around them.

Non-hazardous waste

Waste that is not classified as hazardous, and which encompasses both inert and non-hazardous waste classes.

Offsetting

The process of compensating for something with something else.

Open space

Any land laid out as public parks or used for the purpose of public recreation, or land which is a disused burial ground. 

Outfall

The place of discharge e.g. where a sewage pipe discharges into a river.

Parr

Young salmon or trout with distinctive thumbprint markings on flanks.

Pasture

An area of grassland (or other suitable plants) used to feed grazing animals.

Peatland

Land where plant decomposes only partially and accumulates to form brown to black organic material called peat; the two main types are bogs and fens.

Peat resource

Existing or potential peat extraction sites.

Perennial

A plant that continues to grow from year to year, sometimes undergoing several years of growth before seeds are produced.

Permeable

Something that can be penetrated/passed through by something else e.g. soil is permeable to water as the water can pass through it.

pH

A figure expressing acidity or alkalinity on a logarithmic scale of 0 to 14.

Phase 1 Habitat Survey

This identifies the different habitats that are contained within or make up a site, and the key plant species for each of those habitat types.

Phase 2 Habitat Survey

A detailed specialist survey or phytosociological (plant community) study of a habitat within a site. It may utilise analysis of sample vegetation plots (quadrats) following the UK National Vegetation Classification.

Pile/Piling

A heavy stake or post made out of timber, steel, reinforced concrete or pre-tensioned concrete, driven into the ground to support foundations.

Planning Advice Note (PAN)

Supporting document to National Planning Policy Guidelines, which disseminates good practice and provides more specific design advice of a practical nature.

Plantation woodland

Woodland of any age that obviously originated from planting.

Podzol

An infertile acidic soil having an ash-like subsurface layer (from which minerals have been leached) and a lower dark stratum, occurring typically under temperate coniferous woodland

Poaching

Term used in river habitat survey (RHS) to mean the erosion of a watercourse bank by livestock.

Pollarding

The removal of the tree canopy, back to the stem or primary branches. Pollarding may involve the removal of the entire canopy in one operation or may be phased over several years. The period of safe retention of trees having been pollarded varies with species and individuals. It is usually necessary to re-pollard on a regular basis, annually in the case of some species.

Population health

The health outcomes of a population, including the distribution of such outcomes within the population.

Positive Effects for Biodiversity

An approach to development that ensures they deliver positive effects. Only when actions result in biodiversity being left in a demonstrably better state than before development are positive effects secured.

Potential Impact

The impact on an aspect of the environment that may occur in the absence of mitigation.

Preparing for reuse

Checking, cleaning or repairing operations, by which products or components of products that have become waste are prepared so that they can be re-used without any other pre-processing.

Prevention

Measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce:

1) the quantity of waste, including through the re-use of products or the extension of the life span of products;

2) the adverse impacts of the generated waste on the environment and human health; or

3) the content of harmful substances in materials and products.

Primary Branch

A major branch, generally having a basal diameter greater than 0.25 x stem diameter.

Primary materials

Physical substances from non-renewables sources, i.e. those that cannot or will not be replaced in short (non-geological) periods of time. Also referred to as ‘virgin’ materials.

Prime agricultural land

Agricultural land of Land Capability for Agriculture (LCA) classes 1, 2 and 3.1.

Priority habitat

Those which have been identified as being most threatened and requiring actions under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

Priority species

Those which have been identified as being most threatened and requiring actions under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

Proposed Scheme

The scheme design as reported in Chapter 4 of the ES, and used as the basis for environmental assessment and reporting.

Proximity principle

The requirement to treat and/or dispose of wastes in reasonable proximity to their point of generation.

Pruning

The removal or cutting back of twigs or branches, sometimes applied to twigs or small branches only, but often used to describe most activities involving the cutting of trees or shrubs.

Qualitative

Concerned only with the nature of the organism/substance being investigated.

Quantitative

Concerned with the number, as well as nature of the organism/substance being investigated.

Ramsar sites

Internationally important wetland identified for conservation under the RAMSAR Convention 1971.

Receptor

In this context, an element that is susceptible to being affected (either directly or indirectly) by the proposed scheme. Examples include habitats, species, people, properties, landscape, archaeological remains etc.

Recovery

Any operation, the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy.

Recycled aggregates

Aggregates that are typically derived from reprocessing materials previously used in construction, such as road planings, railway ballast, crushed concrete or masonry from C&D activities.

Recycling

Any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes. Recycling includes the reprocessing of organic material but does not include energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for back filling operations.

Red Data List

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on plants and animals that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and to catalogue and highlight those plants and animals that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable).

Red list species

Bird species in severe population decline. Or globally threatened.

Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS)

Sites designated by regional geological groups on locally developed criteria, currently the most important places for geology and geomorphology outside statutorily protected land such as SSSIs.

Residual impact

The environmental impact after the provision of mitigation measures, if any.

Retention Pond

A wet area for temporarily storing water which delays its flow downstream. Includes some water quality benefits. Usually part of SuDS (drainage design).

Re-use

Any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived

Riffle

A shallow section of a river/stream where the water is fast-flowing over a gravel/cobble substrate.

Right of way

A defined route which has been used by the general public for at least 20 years and which links two public places (usually public roads).

Riparian habitat

Natural home for plants and animals occurring in a thin strip of land bordering a stream or river.

River Basin District

The area of land and sea, made up of one or more river basins, together with the associated groundwater and coastal waters, identified by the Water Framework Directive as the main unit for the management of river basins.

River basin management plan

A plan setting out actions required within a river basin to achieve set environmental quality objectives, reviewed on a six-yearly basis.

Rockhead

The surface representing the top of the solid geological strata, i.e. below any drift deposits. 

Roost

Any resting site used by bats including maternity roosts which are used by females and their young, hibernacula which are used during winter hibernation and transitional roosts which may be used at any time.

Root Protection Area (RPA)

An area of ground surrounding a tree that contains sufficient rooting volume to ensure the tree’s survival, calculated with reference to Table 2 of BS5837 (2005).

Rough grassland

Rank or tussocky grassland. May have been drained, grazed, mown or treated with manure but not so improved by fertiliser or herbicides as to have altered the sward composition greatly. Associated with unenclosed uplands, lowlands with poor access or wet areas, and road verges.

Rough grazing

Non-intensive grazing pasture, commonly found on poor soils, especially in hilly areas.

Runoff

Water that flows over the ground surface to the drainage system. This occurs if the ground is impermeable or if permeable ground is saturated.

Salinity

The saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water.

Salmonid

Pertaining or belonging to the family Salmonidae (salmon, trout and charr).

Scheduled Monument (SM)

A monument which has been scheduled by the Scottish Ministers as being of national importance under the terms of the ‘Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979’.

Scottish Planning Policy (SPP)

A statement of Scottish Government policy on nationally important land use.

Scour

A depression or hole left when sediment is washed away from the bottom of a river.

Scrub

Vegetation dominated by locally native shrubs, usually less than 5m tall.

Secondary materials / aggregates

Useful by-products from manufacturing or industrial processes. Secondary aggregates are typically by-products of industrial and other processes. These can be subdivided into manufactured and natural aggregates, depending on their source and can include materials such as pulverised fuel ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, furnace bottom ash, incinerator bottom ash, recycled glass etc. Both secondary and recycled aggregates offer appropriate engineering specifications to allow them to replace primary aggregates.

Sediment

Material carried in particles by water or wind and deposited on the land surface or seabed.

Sedimentation

The deposition or accumulation of sediment.

Semi-natural woodland

Woodland that does not obviously originate from planting. The distribution of species will generally reflect the variations in the site and the soil. Planted trees must account for less than 30% of the canopy composition.

Sett

The burrow system of badgers comprising a series of underground tunnels and chambers. There are several categories of sett including a main sett, annexe sett, subsidiary sett and outlier sett.

Setting

The surroundings in which a cultural heritage resource is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and can change as the resource and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting can make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of a resource and can affect the ability to appreciate that significance or can be neutral.

Severance

The separation of communities from facilities and services used within their community. Alternatively, in relation to agricultural land, the division of land into separate areas, potentially affecting access or availability for agricultural use.

Site compound

A secure area close to the construction site white provides full site services including storage for equipment, materials and fuel, offices and amenity areas.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

Designated areas of national importance. The aim of the SSSI network is to maintain an adequate representation of all natural and semi-natural habitats and native species in the UK. The site network is protected under the provisions of Sections 28 and 19 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as well as the Amendment Act 1985 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Snag/Stub

In woody plants, a portion of a cut or broken stem, branch or root which extends beyond any growing-point or dormant bud; a snag usually tends to die back to the nearest growing point.

Spawning

The process of egg release into the water by aquatic animals.

Special Area of Conservation (SAC)

An area designated under the EC Habitats Directive to ensure that rare, endangered or vulnerable habitats or species of community interest are either maintained at or restored to a favourable conservation status.

Special Protection Area (SPA)

An area designated under the Wild Birds Directive (Directive74/409/EEC) to protect important bird habitats.

Specific impact

A forceful consequence or strong effect to something particular or unique.

Spraint

Otter faeces.

Stable non-reactive hazardous waste

Hazardous waste, the leaching behaviour of which will not change adversely in the long-term, under landfill design conditions or foreseeable accidents: in the waste alone (for example, by biodegradation); under the impact of long-term ambient conditions (for example, water, air, temperature or mechanical constraints); by the impact of other wastes (including waste products such as leachate and gas).

Stakeholder

A person or group that has an investment, share or interest in something.

Stem(s)

The main supporting structure(s), from ground level up to the first major division into branches.

Sterilise

Substantially constrain / prevent existing and potential future use and extraction of mineral resources, typically by constructing infrastructure over or adjacent to a deposit.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

The process by which information about the environmental effects of proposed plans, policies and programmes are evaluated.

Strategic Transport Project Review (STPR)

A two year review of the Scottish transport network being undertaken by Transport Scotland. It aims to identify and prioritise road, rail and other interventions of national significance, which will be taken forward to improve the network. Through selecting which transport projects of national significance should be progressed, the STPR would also affect regional and local transport networks.

Substrate

An underlying substance or layer.

Suckler cow

The mother of a calf raised for beef production.

Superficial Deposits

The youngest geological deposits formed during the most recent period of geological time, the Quaternary, which extends back 1.8 million years.

Susceptibility

The ability to accommodate change without adverse effect.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

A sequence of management practices and control structures designed to drain surface water in a more sustainable fashion than some conventional techniques. 

Swamp

An area of wet spongy land that often supports some trees and vegetation but is too wet for cultivation.

Taxa

Plural of taxon.

Taxon

A taxonomic group of any rank.

Terrestrial

The environment above the mean high-water spring

Threshold

The minimum intensity or value of a signal etc that will produce a response or specified effect.

Topping

In arboriculture it is the removal of the crown of a tree, or of a major proportion of it.

Tree Preservation Order (TPO)

Is an order made by the local authority and placed upon individual trees, groups of trees or areas of trees. The local authority must usually grant permission prior to any works undertaken to affected trees.

Turbid

High concentrations of suspended sediment and particulates in the water column.

Vascular plants

Higher plants, including flowering plants, conifers and ferns. They are characterised by the possession of specialized tissues (vascular tissue) for the translocation of substances around the plant.

Velocity

A measure of the speed and direction of an object.

Veteran Tree

A term for an old specimen tree that is of interest biologically, culturally or aesthetically because of its age, size or condition and which has usually lived longer than the typical upper age range for the tree species concerned.

Viaduct

A bridge that carries a road, railroad etc. over a valley.

Vulnerable group

A group that is sensitive to changes in health determinant in a given context. Can include groups such as people with disabilities and isolated older people.

Vulnerable travellers

In environmental assessment, generally the elderly, school children and people with disabilities, who could be disproportionately affected by small changes in the baseline due to potentially different needs.

Waste

Defined in line with Article 3(1) of the Waste Framework Directive (Council Directive 2008/98/EC) as: ‘any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard’. Waste is commonly split into the following classifications: Inert, Hazardous and Non-hazardous: waste that is classified neither as inert nor hazardous.

Waste infrastructure

Facilities that handle, treat/prepare for reuse, recycle and dispose (landfill) of waste.

Water Framework Directive (WFD)

European environmental legislation (2000/60/EC) relating to inland surface waters, estuarine and coastal waters and groundwater. Fundamental objective to maintain “high status” of waters where it exists, preventing any deterioration in the existing status of waters and achieving at least “good status” in relation to all waters by 2015.

Water quality

The chemical and biological status of various parameters within the water column and their interactions, for example dissolved oxygen, indicator metals such as dissolved copper, or suspended solids (the movement of which is determined by hydrological process and forms geomorphological landforms).

Windthrow

The uprooting and overthrowing of trees by the wind.

Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV)

The process of determining the visibility of an object in the surrounding landscape. The process is objective is which areas of visibility or non-visibility are determined by computer software using a digital elevation dataset.