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Topsoil physico-chemical properties from the UKCEH Countryside Survey, Great Britain, 2023

Publisher
Environmental Information Data Centre
Updated
30 July 2026
Topic
Not set
Licence
Not set

Summary

This dataset consists of measures of topsoil (0-15 cm) physico-chemical properties from soils sampled from 150 x 1-km squares across Great Britain in 2023 as part of a rolling soil and vegetation monitoring program of 500 1-km squares repeated every 5 years. The properties included are: pH, soil organic matter (loss on ignition, LOI), derived carbon concentration and carbon stock (soil organic carbon, SOC), soil group, soil bulk density of fine earth, soil moisture of wet soil, fine earth volumetric water content (dry), nitrogen concentration and stock, and Olsen-phosphorus concentration. The UKCEH Countryside Survey is a unique study or 'audit' of the natural resources of the UK's countryside. The sample sites are chosen from a stratified random sample, based on a 15 by 15 km grid of GB. Surveys have been carried out in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1998 and 2007 by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and predecessors, with repeated visits to most of the squares. The countryside is sampled and surveyed using rigorous scientific methods, allowing us to compare new results with those from previous surveys. In this way, we can detect the gradual and subtle changes that occur in the UK's countryside over time. In addition to soil data, vegetation species data are also gathered by the current phase of the UKCEH Countryside Survey. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability and through the UKCEH National Capability for UK Challenges Programme NE/Y006208/1. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/fe58d52e-f00c-4895-a35e-26b7353cc275

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Data links

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Supporting information ZIP – 30/7/2026
Download the data – 30/7/2026

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Additional information

Source Metadata
XML, HTML
Date added
25 July 2026
Harvest GUID
fe58d52e-f00c-4895-a35e-26b7353cc275
Extent (Latitude)
60.861° to 49.864°
Extent (Longitude)
-8.648° to 1.768°
Dataset reference date (publication)
2024-11-19
Dataset reference date (creation)
2024-11-19
Access constraints
If you reuse this data, you should cite: Bentley, L., Brentegani, M., Andrews, C., Brown, K., Cope, S., Ebuele, V., Emmett, B.A., Fitos, E., Friend, R., Garbutt, R.A., Gray, A., Hancock, G., Henrys, P.A., Higgins, A., Keenan, P., Keith, A.M., Lebron, I., Moscrop, A., O'Brien, L., Pallett, D.W., Pereira, M.G., Reinsch, S., Risser, H., Rowe, R.L., Scarlett, P., Smart, S.M., Tandy, S., Towill, J., Wagner, M., Wood, C.M., Robinson, D.A. (2024). Topsoil physico-chemical properties from the UKCEH Countryside Survey, Great Britain, 2023. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre https://doi.org/10.5285/fe58d52e-f00c-4895-a35e-26b7353cc275
Responsible party
(author, pointOfContact, publisher, owner, custodian)
ISO 19139 resource type
dataset
Metadata language
eng

Contact

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