The first dataset consists of the data to accompany the paper 'Modelling acoustic scattering, sound speed, and attenuation in gassy soft marine sediments' by A. Mantouka, H. Dogan, P.R. White and T.G. Leighton. This paper was published as J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 140, 274 (2016); http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4954753. The second dataset consists of the data to accompany an as-yet unpublished study, which will be entitled 'Acoustic wave propagation in gassy porous marine sediments: the rheological and the elastic effects' by H. Dogan, P.R. White and T.G. Leighton.

The dataset comprises the bulk density taken from bulk density rings (3.1 centimetre (cm) height, 7.5 cm diameter) within each 1metre (m) x 1m quadrat. Samples were taken vertically at three depths within each quadrat to roughly quantify the following zones: 0 -10 cm, 10 - 20 cm and 20 - 30 cm. Sampling was conducted at six salt marsh sites at four spatial scales: 1 m (the minimal sampling unit) nested within a hierarchy of increasing scales of 1-10 m, 10-100 m and 100-1000 m. Three of the sites were in Morecambe Bay, North West England and three of the sites were in Essex, South East England. The Morecambe Bay samples were taken during the winter and summer of 2013. The Essex samples were taken during the winter, early spring and summer of 2013. This data was collected as part of Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (CBESS): NE/J015644/1. The project was funded with support from the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme. BESS is a six-year programme (2011-2017) funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as part of the UK's Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/814be4cf-0ff2-46dd-b296-c4d9b913b6e4

The dataset comprises the field soil moisture content expressed as a percentage at three depth zones, (0 - 10 centimetre (cm), 10 - 20 cm and 20 - 30 cm), measured from bulk density soil samples taken within each 1 metre x 1 metre quadrat. Sampling was conducted at six salt marsh sites at four spatial scales: 1 metre (m) (the minimal sampling unit) nested within a hierarchy of increasing scales of 1-10 m, 10-100 m and 100-1000 m. Three of the sites were in Morecambe Bay, North West England and three of the sites were in Essex, South East England. The Morecambe Bay samples were taken during the winter and summer of 2013. The Essex samples were taken during the winter, early spring and summer of 2013. Samples were taken using a bulk density ring. Soil moisture content was determined by weighing the samples as fresh field mass and then again after being dried out at 105 degrees Celsius for 72 hours. This data was collected as part of Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (CBESS): NE/J015644/1. The project was funded with support from the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme. BESS is a six-year programme (2011-2017) funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as part of the UK's Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/125a899b-8f10-4803-a6cf-a2fb1739746f

The dataset comprises the spider and beetle abundance sampled by suction sampling in each 1metre (m) x 1m quadrat. Sampling was conducted at six salt marsh sites at four spatial scales: 1 m (the minimal sampling unit) nested within a hierarchy of increasing scales of 1-10 m, 10-100 m and 100-1000 m. Three of the sites were in Morecambe Bay, North West England and three of the sites were in Essex, South East England. All samples were taken during the winter and summer of 2013. This data was collected as part of Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (CBESS): NE/J015644/1. The project was funded with support from the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme. BESS is a six-year programme (2011-2017) funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) as part of the UK's Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/aff42a31-c314-444e-bdff-2275a8ee93da

This dataset consists of hourly air temperature and wind speed data from a meteorological station sited on top of a boat house, located in Cumbria, England, next to Esthwaite Water. Measurements were taken every 4 minutes and calculated as hourly averages. The data were collected by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology between 2012 and 2015 inclusive. This dataset has been used in various publications, please see supporting documentation for more detail. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/40f5f2b4-4ebd-4dcd-8b45-3b6a46251161

[THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN]. This dataset compares historic grassland survey data with contemporary spatial data of habitats in England. The NVC community and grassland type were determined for 848 quadrats surveyed at grassland sites in England between 1960 and 1981. A 100m buffer was generated around each individual quadrat which matched the spatial accuracy (±100m) of the quadrat location, to represent a grassland site. These sites were intersected with Natural England's Priority Habitats' Inventory in ArcGIS, to indicate the percentage cover of priority habitats found at the grassland sites in 2013. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/1fb2cda3-cb49-414f-ad84-4a2f88ecce15

This dataset consists of soils dated using lead-210 (210Pb) in profiles from permafrost in subarctic Canada. Soil cores were sampled during early summer in 2013 and 2014 from peatland plateaus, thawing peatland plateaus, burnt and unburnt black spruce forests in Yukon and Northwest Territories. The upper part of the soil profile was dated using 210Pb to quantify recent carbon accumulation rates. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/3b22fba5-8429-4fdc-849c-b4c248ea744d

Time series data of carbon release in disintegrations per minute are presented for different nitrogen and phosphorus treatments with a high molecular weight substrate added as a carbon source to soil samples from six depths (0-15, 15-30, 50-100, 100-150, 150-200 and 250-300 centimetres). Soil cores were collected from a field experiment in the Conwy catchment in July 2016 and returned the laboratories of the School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University. A high molecular weight substrate was added as a carbon source to the samples and the rate of 14C-substrate mineralization measured. All the work was carried out by trained members of staff from Bangor University and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The measurements were taken to improve understanding of the relationship between microbial activity and soil properties and depth of sampling, under differing nutrient availability. The data were collected for the NERC project 'The Multi-Scale Response of Water quality, Biodiversity and Carbon Sequestration to Coupled Macronutrient Cycling from Source to Sea' (NE/J011991/1). The project is also referred to as Turf2Surf. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/4a8fedf4-a572-4d95-ac41-087974169af1

Estimated species richness data for valuation of biodiversity across the UK, based on species occurrence records for 11 taxonomic groups (Bees, Birds, Bryophytes, Butterflies, Carabidae, Hoverflies, Isopoda, Ladybirds, Moths, Orthoptera and Vascular plants). UK species occurrence data were collated from the Biological Records Centre (BRC) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Estimated species richness was calculated across all taxonomic groups for two time periods: 1970-1990 and 2000-2013. The dataset was used to create the "UK ecological status map version 2". Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/6c535793-034d-4c4f-8a00-497315e7d689

This data set consists of measurements of lengths of linear landscape features and associated attributes from sites across Wales, collected between 2013 and 2016. Data are presented as lengths of features such as hedges ('woody linear features'), fences, walls, banks and streams, with associated species and condition measures where applicable. Features were surveyed within a set of up to 300 x 1km squares across Wales (not all sites contained linear features), collected as part of the Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (GMEP). The monitoring programme was set up by the Welsh Government in 2013 to monitor the effects of the Glastir agri-environment scheme on the environment and ran from 2013 to 2016. The field survey element was based on a stratified random sampling design of 300 x 1km square sites across Wales, and was managed by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/f481c6bf-5774-4df8-8776-c4d7bf059d40