Targets and monitoring

The Health check sections on the habitat pages largely summarise data collated from Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and County Wildlife Site monitoring. Some woodland data (area and management) was provided by the Forestry Commission. Data on waterbodies was obtained from the Environment Agency.

SSSIs

Natural England monitors SSSIs and provided a table of the latest condition data in November 2025: SSSI condition data.

The data is based on broad habitat types (rather than UK priority habitats). See the JNCC website for the relationship between broad habitats and priority habitats. Also see Other information below for more on habitat classification.

More detailed information for each SSSI can be found on the NE designated sites view.

 See the Viewer for a map showing SSSI condition (Other Useful Layers> SSSI Condition Assessments).

County Wildlife Sites

There are around 2,300 County Wildlife Sites (CWS) across Devon. Devon Biodiversity Records Centre (DBRC) is funded by Devon County Council and Devon Wildlife Trust to monitor County Wildlife Sites across Devon. DBRC provided a summary of the latest data in November 2025: CWS condition monitoring. The data is based on UK priority habitats (rather than broad habitat types).

More information on County Wildlife Sites in Devon (including designation criteria) can be found on DBRC’s website: County Wildlife Sites – DBRC. For details of individual CWS please contact DBRC.

Waterbodies

The River Basin Management Plan website developed by the Environment Agency shows the condition of each waterbody.

The Environment Agency Catchment Data Explorer has detailed information on the Environment Agency management catchments in Devon.

30 x 30 target

There is a national target to protect 30% of land and sea in the UK for nature’s recovery by 2030. The Devon LNRS national environmental targets paper includes a link to a quick estimate of the potential for achieving this target in Devon. This work was carried out for the Devon LNRS by Natural England as part of their national work on protected landscapes.

2013 State of Devon’s Nature report

Information on habitats and species in the LNRS updates the 2013 State of Devon’s Nature report. However, it could be useful to produce a new State of Nature summary using information in the LNRS (and any other up-to-date information available).

For information on relevant national nature and environmental targets and how the Devon LNRS has been developed to help achieve them see the Devon LNRS relevant national targets paper. This includes links to the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan and to the Protected Landscapes Targets and Outcomes Framework.

Defra and Natural England are developing a monitoring framework for LNRSs. This page will be updated when information is available.

Habitat classification:

A few of the habitat pages in the LNRS (largely Wildlife-rich grassland and Heath, moor, bog and mire mosaics) refer to detailed habitat classification systems. For more information on these see the Devon LNRS Habitat Classification table.

Useful links:

• UKHab: The UK Habitat Classification System is a new(ish) system that has been designed to incorporate the previous UK habitat classifications. The system is now used for national schemes such as Biodiversity Net Gain. For more information see the UKHab website. 
• UK Priority Habitats / habitats of principal importance: Habitats considered to be under threat in the UK due to their rarity or decline are also known as habitats of principal importance (under Section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act). See GOV.UK for more information.  
• UK Priority Habitats and Broad Habitat types: See the JNCC website for the relationship between broad habitats and priority habitats.
• NVC: The National Vegetation Classification system was published in the 1990s. It identifies 286 plant communities which are divided into 12 major habitat types such as ‘woodlands and scrub’, ‘heaths’ and ‘grasslands’. The system is set out in the British Plant Communities series (Volumes 1-5). Some of the Volumes are available on the web. See the JNCC website for more information.