Thames Catchment Soil Hydraulic Properties Across Land Management Groups

UKCEH's dataset contains hydraulic and hydrological soil properties from the Thames catchment, collected in 2021. Measurements include soil dry bulk density, porosity, moisture, moisture retention, infiltration rates, and saturated hydraulic conductivity at depths up to 100 cm. Data were gathered at seven field sites representing three distinct land management groups under arable, grassland, and woodland use.

Use Cases

• Compare soil saturated hydraulic conductivity measurements at 25 cm and 45 cm depths across arable, grassland, and woodland land use groups.
• Analyze soil moisture retention data to 100 cm suction for modeling water holding capacity in shallow limestone versus slowly permeable mudstone soils.
• Model surface soil infiltration rates from trafficked areas like tramlines versus untrafficked margins to assess land management impact.
• Correlate soil dry bulk density and estimated porosity values from five sampling depths with land management practices such as herbal leys or controlled traffic.

Strengths

• Data collected at seven distinct field sites across the Thames catchment, enabling spatial comparison.
• Samples and measurements taken at five depths between the surface and 100 cm below ground level, providing subsurface profiles.
• Includes three sub-groups of sites under different land management practices (arable, grassland, woodland) for controlled analysis.
• Temporal coverage includes repeats taken before and after harvest between April and October 2021.

Limitations

• Point data from seven sites may not provide complete spatial coverage for the entire Thames catchment.
• Sample collection was limited to 2021, representing a single year's conditions without long-term temporal trends.
• Specific row count and column structure are unknown, limiting precise assessment of dataset scale and feature completeness.

Provenance

Source

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) for the LANDWISE project.

Collection Method

Laboratory analysis of soil samples collected with Eijkelkamp and auger kits; field measurements using Mini Disk Infiltrometers and Guelph permeameters.

Time Range

April 2021 to October 2021.

Freshness

Data collected in 2021; metadata last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Thames catchment, United Kingdom, specifically sites in Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and near Oxford.