Modeled Topsoil Nutrients Across Great Britain Habitats

Countryside Survey provides model estimates for topsoil nutrients including total nitrogen concentration, C:N ratio, and Olsen-Phosphorus. The data is derived from 1024 cores for nitrogen and 1054 cores for phosphorus, sampled from 256 1km squares across Great Britain in 2007. Estimates were modeled for habitat and parent material combinations using data from 1978, 1998, and 2007.

Use Cases

• Analyze total nitrogen concentration and C:N ratio across Broad Habitat types to assess soil fertility.
• Model Olsen-Phosphorus levels against Parent Material Model characteristics to study nutrient availability.
• Compare estimated mean nutrient values from 1978, 1998, and 2007 surveys to track long-term soil changes.
• Identify habitat and parent material combinations where sample sizes were insufficient for reliable mean estimates.

Strengths

• Data is representative of 0-15 cm soil depth from 256 systematically sampled 1km squares.
• Includes 1024 analyzed cores for nitrogen metrics and 1054 cores for phosphorus.
• Model estimates integrate survey data from three time points: 1978, 1998, and 2007.

Limitations

• Urban and littoral rock areas were not sampled, creating geographic gaps in coverage.
• Some habitat and parent material combinations lack estimates due to insufficient sample sizes.
• Data is based on 2007 sampling with modeled historical estimates, not recent direct measurements.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Soil cores analyzed for nutrients; estimates modeled from Countryside Survey data using a mixed model approach.

Time Range

Model incorporates data from 1978, 1998, and 2007; core sampling year is 2007.

Freshness

null

Geography

Great Britain