Members' Access

The BSBI is committed to increasing access to the information it holds for the benefit of its members and for the plants that we all care so passionately about. By providing greater access to these data, we hope to encourage more recording amongst members and increase the conservation, research and educational activities carried out by the Society and our partners throughout Britain and Ireland.

We are therefore pleased to announce that BSBI members can now apply for access to the BSBI’s central database of plant distribution records known as the Distribution Database (or DDb). This follows consultation with our Vice-County Recorders (VCRs). 

How will it work?

Once they have applied and access has been granted, members will have access to records in the BSBI’s Distribution Database with the following exceptions:  

• The records of some species will have their records blurred to protect sensitive sites/populations. These will include national rarities blurred centrally by the BSBI as well as records of some species/sites flagged by VCRs.
• In some Vice-Counties Members’ Access will be limited to monad or tetrad resolution access as selected by the VCR.
• For all countries except Scotland, records will exclude the names of recorders, locations and notes
• If you have any concerns about the completeness or accuracy of the data, please email ddbsupport@bsbi.org in the first instance.

To contribute your own records, please make sure to submit them to your VCR (see https://bsbi.org/local-botany for more details) , through the recording app, or by using iRecord. This practice helps us continuously grow and update our dataset, ensuring its accuracy and utility for everyone involved.

Important things to note

• Access will be read only; members will not be able to edit or change records.
• Members will sign up to a set of terms and conditions limiting use of data. We will monitor use and intervene where terms and conditions are not followed.
• The existing level of access for VCRs and other registered DDb users will not change in any way.
• Any member actively engaged in recording or research may ask their VCR to support an application for full access to the DDb; VCRs are encouraged to put forward names of any recorders whom they feel meet these criteria.

Next steps

If you are not yet a member of BSBI

All memberships directly support the work of BSBI in studying, understanding and promoting British and Irish wild plants. Find out more about joining the BSBI.

If you are a member of BSBI and not yet a registered user of the DDb

If you would like to apply for member access to the DDb, please visit the registration page, where you will need to enter your email address and membership number.

Once you have applied for access, your request will be checked and approved, after which you will be notified and signposted to resources on using the DDb.

If you aren’t currently interested in accessing the DDb, you can continue your membership as usual, but the opportunity will remain in case you would like to make use of it in future. You can also continue to access the full range of BSBI distribution maps, as well as all the membership features on our website, as normal.

The DDb is a fantastic and powerful resource that underlies much of the advisory and conservation work the BSBI is able to achieve, thanks to the efforts of all the recorders who contribute to it and the membership as a whole. If you would like to additionally support the on-going development of the DDb, and to contribute data, we would encourage you to do so through our new recording app and through the local Vice-County Recorder. To support all of BSBI’s scientific work, please consider making a donation towards support for recording.

If you are a member of BSBI and already a registered user of the DDb

As an individual already registered as a DDb user, you will not notice any change to the access you already enjoy, and your username and password will remain the same. We hope over time you will see the benefits of expanded recording and a great community of engaged botanists who are making use of BSBI data for the conservation of our wild plants. Please encourage friends, colleagues and other local botanists to join BSBI and make the most of these resources, and to contribute data, both through our new recording app and through your local Vice-County Recorder.

If you would like to additionally support the on-going development of the DDb, and all BSBI’s scientific work, please consider making a donation towards support for recording.