Topsoil Property Estimates for British Habitats

The Environmental Information Data Centre provides a Web Map Service with modelled estimates of topsoil properties across Great Britain. Estimates for bacterial communities, invertebrates, carbon, nutrients, pH, and bulk density are derived from 2007 Countryside Survey data using a mixed model approach. The service layers these estimates on dominant habitat and parent material characteristics from the Land Cover Map 2007 and Parent Material Model 2009.

Use Cases

• Model carbon density (t ha-1) and loss-on-ignition (%) against habitat and parent material characteristics for carbon sequestration studies.
• Analyze the relationship between soil pH, Olsen-Phosphorus (mg/kg), and bacterial community structure ordination scores across different land covers.
• Assess soil biodiversity by mapping invertebrate metrics like Total catch and Shannon diversity against habitat types.
• Estimate bulk density (g cm-3) and gravimetric moisture content (%) to inform hydrological and erosion models.
• Investigate C:N ratio and total nitrogen concentration (%) variations by parent material for nutrient cycling research.

Strengths

• Data integrates multiple soil science domains: biology (bacteria, invertebrates), chemistry (carbon, nutrients, pH), and physics (bulk density).
• Estimates are modelled on specific, standardized national datasets for habitat (Land Cover Map 2007) and geology (Parent Material Model 2009).
• Soil property measurements are defined by consistent laboratory protocols, such as pH measured at a 1:2.5 soil-to-water ratio.

Limitations

• Urban and littoral rock areas are excluded from the source survey, creating spatial gaps in coverage.
• Model estimates for some habitat/parent material combinations are missing due to insufficient sample sizes in the original survey.
• Core data is from 2007, which may not reflect current soil conditions.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre, using data from the Countryside Survey.

Collection Method

Mixed model estimates derived from field survey data, applied to national habitat and parent material maps.

Time Range

Model estimates based on 2007 survey data.

Freshness

Service metadata updated April 2026, but underlying model estimates are based on 2007 survey data.

Geography

Great Britain, excluding unsampled areas like urban zones and littoral rock.