Earthworm Abundance and Soil Properties Along Hedgerow Transects in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire farm data contains soil moisture, temperature, bulk density, and earthworm abundance and biomass measurements taken along transects from hedges into arable fields, pasture fields, and ley strips. Sampling was conducted annually from April 2015 to April 2017, with additional sampling in December 2015, July 2016, and October 2016. The data were collected by Miranda Prendergast-Miller and colleagues as part of the SoilBioHedge project funded by the NERC Soil Security Programme.

Use Cases

• Model earthworm abundance as a function of distance from hedgerows and soil moisture, temperature, and bulk density measurements.
• Analyze correlations between soil bulk density and earthworm biomass across different field types (arable, pasture, ley strips).
• Assess seasonal variation in soil temperature and earthworm abundance using data from multiple sampling dates between 2015 and 2017.
• Compare soil quality indicators (moisture, bulk density) between arable strips established in pasture and pasture leys established in arable fields.

Strengths

• Multi-year temporal coverage with sampling from April 2015 to April 2017.
• Includes multiple physical soil measurements (moisture, temperature, bulk density) alongside biological data (earthworm abundance, biomass).
• Data collected as part of a defined research project (SoilBioHedge) with a NERC grant reference.

Limitations

• Sample size and number of measurement rows are unknown, limiting statistical power assessment.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single farm (Spens farm) in West Yorkshire, England.
• Earthworm identification method (hand sorting, mustard solution) may have detection limits for certain species or life stages.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Soil pits excavated and hand-sorted for earthworms, with mustard solution used to collect emerging earthworms; soil moisture, temperature, and bulk density measured at each pit.

Time Range

April 2015 to April 2017, with additional sampling in December 2015, July 2016, October 2016.

Freshness

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Geography

Spens farm, University of Leeds experiment farms, West Yorkshire, England.