Modelled Topsoil Properties for Great Britain at 1km Resolution

Great Britain is covered by modelled estimates of key soil properties at a 1km² resolution. The data includes soil pH, carbon concentration (g kg⁻¹), nitrogen concentration (% dry weight), and invertebrate density (individuals m⁻²). These estimates are derived from a Generalized Additive Model using the 2007 Countryside Survey data, incorporating climate, atmospheric deposition, habitat, soil, and spatial predictors.

Use Cases

• Mapping soil carbon stocks for climate change mitigation assessments based on modelled carbon concentration.
• Assessing soil health and fertility for agricultural planning using pH and nitrogen concentration estimates.
• Studying soil invertebrate biodiversity and ecosystem function from modelled density data.
• Validating environmental models with spatially continuous estimates of topsoil chemistry.

Strengths

• Provides spatially continuous modelled estimates at a high 1km² resolution across Great Britain.
• Based on a detailed, standardized survey methodology (Countryside Survey 2007) with explicit laboratory protocols described.
• Models incorporate multiple predictor types, including climate, atmospheric deposition, habitat, and soil data.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and license information are missing from all sources.
• The model is based on a single survey year (2007), limiting temporal analysis and potentially reflecting outdated conditions.
• The 'last updated' metadata field from one source shows a future date (2026-04-02), indicating a potential data entry error or conflict.

Provenance

Source

Environmental Information Data Centre

Collection Method

Generalized Additive Model applied to soil sample data from the Countryside Survey.

Time Range

2007

Freshness

2026-04-02 08:36:17.021213 (Note: This is a future date, which may be an error)

Geography

Great Britain