Soil Chemical and Physical Properties from UK Grassland Fertilizer Trials

Environmental Information Data Centre provides soil physicochemical and biological measurements from a 2016 plot trial at three UK grassland sites. Data includes parameters like soil nitrate, ammonium, texture, pH, and microbial biomass, collected from three soil depths across sixteen plots per site following three fertilizer applications and silage cuts.

Use Cases

• Analyze soil nitrate and ammonium levels across control, urea-only, urea-inhibitor, and ammonium-nitrate (Nitram) fertilizer treatments.
• Model relationships between soil texture (sand/silt/clay), soil moisture, and parameters like dissolved organic carbon or pH.
• Compare soil organic matter content (loss-on-ignition) and total carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus across the 0-15, 15-30, and 30-60 cm depth profiles.
• Investigate correlations between microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen with chemical parameters like citric acid extractable phosphorous or Olsen-P.

Strengths

• Data collected from three distinct UK grassland sites (North Wyke, Henfaes, Easter Bush) providing geographic variation.
• Includes measurements for three soil depths (0-15, 15-30, 30-60 cm) and sixteen plots per site with four replicated fertilizer treatments.
• Covers a wide range of over 20 specific soil physical, chemical, and biological parameters, including aggregate stability and nitrogen genes.

Limitations

• Temporal scope is limited to a single growing season from April to October 2016.
• Sample size is constrained to 48 total plots (16 plots x 3 sites), which may limit statistical power for complex multivariate analyses.
• Microbial community composition and nitrogen gene data are stored in a separate linked dataset, requiring a join for a complete biological profile.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre, with measurements by Centre of Ecology & Hydrology, Bangor University, and Rothamsted Research.

Collection Method

Samples taken from a randomized complete block design plot trial following three fertilizer applications and three silage cuts.

Time Range

April 2016 to October 2016

Freshness

Data is from 2016; metadata was last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Three UK grassland sites: North Wyke (Devon), Henfaes Research Station (North Wales), and Easter Bush (Scotland).