UK Countryside Survey: Topsoil Properties Across Great Britain, 2019

UKCEH Countryside Survey data includes measures of topsoil physico-chemical properties from 100 1km squares sampled across Great Britain in 2019. The dataset contains soil organic matter, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, pH, conductivity, bulk density, and water content. This work is part of a rolling monitoring program of 500 squares repeated every 5 years, supported by the UK-SCAPE programme.

Use Cases

• Model soil carbon sequestration based on total soil organic carbon and derived carbon concentration.
• Assess soil fertility and nutrient levels based on nitrogen and Olsen-phosphorous measurements.
• Analyze soil acidity and salinity for agricultural or ecological studies based on pH and electrical conductivity.
• Estimate soil compaction and water retention based on soil bulk density and fine earth volumetric water content.
• Monitor long-term changes in soil organic matter using loss on ignition (LOI) data across survey years.

Strengths

• Data is part of a long-term monitoring program with surveys conducted since 1978, allowing for temporal comparison.
• Sample sites are chosen from a stratified random sample based on a 15km grid, providing systematic spatial coverage of Great Britain.
• The dataset includes multiple key soil properties: organic matter, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, pH, conductivity, bulk density, and water content.

Limitations

• This dataset has been withdrawn, indicating it may not be the current or approved version for use.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and sample size for the 2019 subset are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH).

Collection Method

Soils sampled from a stratified random sample of 1km squares across Great Britain using rigorous scientific methods.

Time Range

2019 (part of a series including 1978, 1984, 1990, 1998, 2007).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-19 07:37:44.994922; freshness should be verified given the dataset is withdrawn.

Geography

Great Britain.