Acute Oak Decline Symptoms and Environmental Factors in Three UK Woodlands

Three oak woodland sites in southern England provide data on 60 trees (10 symptomatic and 10 asymptomatic per site) collected in 2016. The dataset includes tree dimensions, crown condition, soil chemical properties, and site context variables to investigate relationships with Acute Oak Decline. It was produced by the Environmental Information Data Centre with support from multiple grants.

Use Cases

• Compare soil chemical properties like pH, total carbon, and 'Olsen' extractable phosphorus between sites with symptomatic and asymptomatic trees.
• Model the relationship between crown condition metrics, such as density reduction, and local site factors like depth to gleying or compound topographic index.
• Analyze tree social status (dominant, codominant, suppressed) and surrounding basal area against tree dimensions and symptom presence.
• Investigate genetic identity (Quercus robur, Quercus petraea, hybrids) confirmed by SNP analysis as a factor in symptom expression alongside soil cation exchange capacity.

Strengths

• Includes a balanced sample of 60 trees (30 symptomatic, 30 asymptomatic) across three distinct woodland sites.
• Captures multi-faceted data per tree, including genetic identity, physical dimensions, crown condition, soil chemistry, and topographic indices.
• Data collection was supported by specific research grants (BB/N022831/1) and organizations, indicating a structured research context.

Limitations

• Limited to 60 trees from three sites in a single year (2016), restricting temporal and geographic generalizability.
• Unknown row and column counts prevent assessment of dataset size and feature dimensionality.
• Focus on southern England may not represent environmental conditions or AOD dynamics in other regions.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Field measurements and laboratory analysis of tree, site, and soil properties at three woodland sites.

Time Range

2016

Freshness

Data is from 2016, with a metadata record last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Three oak woodland sites in southern England: Writtle Forest, Monks Wood, and Stratfield Brake.