Monthly Water Quality and Biological Surveys for 21 English Woodland Streams

Water quality and biology results for 21 streams draining headwater catchments dominated by woodland cover. The dataset includes monthly water quality samples and annual biological surveys of benthic macroinvertebrates, with data continuing up to December 2024. It was produced by the Forestry Commission under the NFI+ Woodland Water Quality project funded by the UK Government.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in chemical constituent concentrations across 21 sites over monthly time series.
• Correlate biotic indices derived from benthic macroinvertebrate species lists with physical water quality parameters.
• Model the relationship between woodland catchment characteristics and stream water chemistry using site-specific data.
• Assess spatial variation in water quality by comparing results from sites distributed across England.

Strengths

• Data from 21 distinct monitoring sites provides spatial replication.
• Monthly water quality sampling offers temporal granularity for trend analysis.
• Includes both chemical/physical parameters and biological survey data for a holistic view.

Limitations

• Biological data is limited to two autumn surveys, reducing seasonal coverage.
• Specific row counts, column names, and sample sizes are not provided in the description.
• The supporting documentation outlines dataset-specific limitations that must be reviewed prior to use.

Provenance

Source

Forestry Commission, UK.

Collection Method

Monthly water sampling for chemical/physical parameters and annual autumn surveys of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna.

Time Range

Monthly samples with various start dates continuing to December 2024.

Freshness

Data includes records up to December 2024, with the dataset last updated in April 2026.

Geography

21 stream sites distributed around England.