Topsoil physico-chemical properties from the UKCEH Countryside Survey, Great Britain, 2020

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Environmental Information Data Centre
Last updated:
02 July 2026
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Summary

[THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN]. This dataset consists of measures of topsoil (0-15cm) physico-chemical properties from soils sampled from 49 x 1km squares across Great Britain in 2020 as part of a rolling soil and vegetation monitoring program of 500 1km squares repeated every 5 years. The properties included are: soil organic matter (loss on ignition (LOI)), derived carbon concentration, total soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrogen, Olsen-phosphorous, pH, electrical conductivity, soil bulk density of fine earth and fine earth volumetric water content. 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 the majority of 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 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. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/cc2aa8f3-95cb-4b85-b883-8ac26e69bdbe

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Supporting information ZIP 02 July 2026 Not available

Additional information

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Added to data.gov.uk
2026-07-01
Access contraints
If you reuse this data, you should cite: Robinson, D.A., Alison, J., Brentegani, M., Chetiu, N., Emmett, B.A., Fitos, E., Garbutt, R.A., Guyatt, H., Henrys, P.A., Hunt, A., Keenan, P.O., Keith, A.M., Lebron, I., Long, C., Meek, B., Millani Lopes Mazzetto, J., O'Rourke, C., Pallett, D.W., Pereira, M.G., Pinder, A., Rowe, R.L., Scarlett, P., Seaton, F., Smart, S.M., Wagner, M., Wallace, H., Williams, B., Wood, C.M. (2021). Topsoil physico-chemical properties from the UKCEH Countryside Survey, Great Britain, 2020. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre https://doi.org/10.5285/cc2aa8f3-95cb-4b85-b883-8ac26e69bdbe
Harvest GUID
cc2aa8f3-95cb-4b85-b883-8ac26e69bdbe
Extent
Latitude: 60.861° to °
Longitude: -8.648° to 1.768°
Spatial reference system
Dataset reference date
2021-11-23 (publication)
2021-09-08 (creation)
Frequency of update
Responsible party
(pointOfContact, author, custodian, publisher, owner); Ecological Surveys (Bangor) (author)
ISO 19139 resource type
dataset
Metadata language
eng
Source Metadata
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