Topsoil Properties Across Great Britain from 2018-2019 Survey

UKCEH Countryside Survey data contains measurements of topsoil physico-chemical properties from 106 1-km squares sampled across Great Britain in 2018 and 2019. The dataset includes properties such as pH, soil organic matter, carbon stock, nitrogen concentration, and Olsen-phosphorus concentration. It is part of a rolling monitoring program that revisits 500 squares every five years to detect environmental changes.

Use Cases

• Model soil organic carbon (SOC) stock using pH, soil moisture, and bulk density measurements as predictors.
• Analyze spatial patterns of Olsen-phosphorus concentration across different soil groups in Great Britain.
• Assess correlations between nitrogen concentration and soil organic matter (loss on ignition) levels in topsoil.
• Monitor changes in fine earth volumetric water content over time by linking with historical survey data.

Strengths

• Data from 106 systematically sampled 1-km squares provides a spatially distributed baseline.
• Includes multiple key soil properties like pH, SOC, nitrogen, and phosphorus for integrated analysis.
• Part of a long-term monitoring program with surveys dating back to 1978, enabling temporal comparison.
• Sample sites chosen via a stratified random sample based on a 15 by 15 km grid, ensuring representativeness.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 106 squares from the initial phase of a 500-square program.
• Data is restricted to topsoil (0-15 cm depth), excluding subsoil properties.
• Temporal coverage for this release is only two years (2018-2019), limiting longitudinal analysis within the file.

Provenance

Source

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) Countryside Survey, managed by the Environmental Information Data Centre.

Collection Method

Soil samples collected from a stratified random sample of 1-km squares based on a 15 by 15 km grid across Great Britain.

Time Range

2018-2019

Freshness

Data from 2018-2019 survey; part of a 5-year repeating cycle.

Geography

Great Britain