2020 County Report for South Aberdeenshire

Ian Francis

2020 was a very quiet year in the vice-county, with very limited fieldwork due to the lockdown and a certain relaxation after the Atlas efforts in 2019. Around 1300 records came in from 25 botanists, including a major contribution by Gus Routledge, and there were some useful finds. The first few months of the year were occupied by some final Atlas data entry and validation, especially the capturing of some important aquatic macrophyte records from SNH site condition monitoring surveys of a number of Aberdeenshire lochs during the Atlas period, helping to rectify significant under-recording of water plants during 2000-2019. Once again, many very useful records came from the North-East Scotland Biological Records Centre (NESBReC). I am very grateful to all those who submitted records in 2020. The aim is to begin some more targeted recording in 2021, assuming we are able to range freely once more!