This dataset consists of behaviour and distribution data of Lepidoptera from chalk grassland fragments at the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, UK, in 2011. The landscape consists of small fragments of ancient chalk grassland on slopes and groups of burial mounds (barrows) which have retained many of the characteristic chalk grassland plant and butterfly species. Surveys were located at four of these chalk grassland fragments. At each chalk grassland fragment, four 20 m long survey boundaries, were set up on boundaries with adjacent land cover of either arable land or new grassland re-creation sown in the years 2009 or 2010. Control surveys were also carried out in areas of continuous habitat within the chalk grassland fragment and in the adjoining land cover type. Surveys of Lepidoptera behaviour were carried out from May to July between 10am and 4pm and effort was taken to survey the same site at different times of the day in order to minimise the effect of survey time on behaviour. Standing at the chalk grassland fragment edge the flight path of individual Lepidoptera was tracked in the survey area for up to three minutes. Measures of vegetation characteristics and nectar flower availability were recorded for each plot. Vegetation characteristics were measured as vegetation height and density and the percentage cover of bare ground and dead vegetation. Nectar resources were measured in terms of the number and percentage coverage of flowering units, the total number of nectar flowering units and of relevant families (Dipsacaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae). The data were collected as part of a PhD project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the National Trust. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/61561232-3307-470a-b8dc-a923b25e1641

The number of pollen grains delivered to stigmas in a single visit by flower visitors (from insect orders Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera) to oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in southern England. Behavioural and morphological data were also recorded for a subset of visits to understand common traits which led to improved pollen delivery. These data were collected as part of Wessex BESS project, funded by the NERC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability research program. This dataset can be used in conjunction with other Wessex BESS datasets, in particular the landscape scale survey of pollinators. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/ee145769-2853-4a89-8aa6-c4a5149d07c0

The floral resources provided to pollinators by different sown plant experimental plant communities were assessed under ambient and experimental drought conditions. The dataset includes the abundance and diversity of floral resources in all plant communities and more detailed information on the nectar quality and quantity provided by three focal plant species. Pollinator visit surveys were carried out on selected plots. These data can be linked to the related 'Ecosystem functions and vegetation data for Winklebury Hill, Salisbury Plain, UK in 2016' (https://doi.org/10.5285/e8a1bf2d-bc6b-452f-ab9d-40fa2288fce6) collected as part of the Wessex BESS project, funded by the NERC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability research program. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/eb2bc7a2-4bd8-455d-8f0d-7d379540e967

Vegetation data from field surveys undertaken at two experimental trials at Martin Down NNR, to investigate the potential for reducing dense Brachypodium pinnatum cover (experiment 1) and preventing further expansion of sparse cover (experiment 2). Experiment 1 explores the use of herbicide and reseeding, whilst experiment 2 examines cutting and grazing in the spring, autumn and both seasons. Percentage cover of all vascular plant species were recorded in 50 cm x 50 cm quadrats in each treatment replicate for both experiments. Surveys were undertaken in 2019 as a baseline before the experiments commenced, and post treatment in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/f15e64c0-db65-40ec-8b6d-50573f5f6694

This dataset consists of behaviour and distribution data of Lepidoptera at the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, UK, between 2010-2011. A long term landscape scale grassland restoration and re-creation project has been underway at the site since 2000. 200m long transects were located in the centre of different grassland re-creation fields of different ages, arable land, chalk grassland fragments on slopes and on ancient burial mounds, and semi-improved pasture. Transects were surveyed on three occasions spread across the field season (June to September), and throughout the day and were selected ad-hoc for survey in order to minimise the effect that the time of year and day would have on results. During the survey, the transect was walked at a slow, steady pace allowing five minutes for each 20m section of transect and the number and species of Lepidoptera present 5m either side and ahead were recorded. If Lepidoptera were observed feeding, then the nectar plant species was also recorded. Habitat quality, defined in terms of vegetation characteristics and nectar resources, was quantified throughout each transect by sampling quadrats in each 20m segment of the transect. Vegetation characteristics were measured as vegetation height and density and the percentage cover of bare ground and dead vegetation. Nectar resources were measured in terms of the number and percentage coverage of flowering units, the total number of nectar flowering units and of relevant families (Dipsacaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae). The data were collected as part of a PhD project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the National Trust. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/a384bdfb-0bf2-4c3e-80ab-e171f38d503d

his dataset consists of behaviour and distribution data of Lepidoptera from mown chalk grassland boundaries at the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, UK, between July and August 2012. The landscape consisted of a mosaic of chalk grassland fragments on ancient burial mounds (barrows) and slopes, grassland re-creation fields of different ages since sowing, semi-improved pasture, arable farmland and woodland. In one of the grassland re-creation fields, two large areas were mown and eight 20 m long survey boundaries were set up. Four of these were set up on the edge of one of two mown areas and four were set up in areas of continuous un-mown grass which had dummy 'boundaries' parallel to the mown boundaries. The survey was conducted from the survey boundary and the flight path of individual Lepidoptera was tracked in the area 10 m either side of the survey boundary. Each individual Lepidoptera flight path was surveyed for three minutes. Each boundary was surveyed for a total of 20 minutes on three occasions over a five week period. The sequence of boundaries surveyed was chosen randomly and equal survey effort was allocated to visually searching both sides of the boundary. The order and time of day for surveying each survey area was random so to spread surveys throughout the survey period and throughout the day. Measures of vegetation characteristics and nectar flower availability were recorded for survey areas. Recorded vegetation characteristics included vegetation height and density. Nectar flower availability was measured as the number of flowering units of nectar flowers and numbers of those in the Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Dipsacaceae families. The data were collected as part of a PhD project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the National Trust. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/e3598268-22d7-4913-a736-890728ea858b

This dataset contains information about soil near-surface physical and hydrological properties, vegetation observations and land use & management information across the Thames catchment (UK). It was collected during the ‘Landwise' project's ‘Broad-scale field survey' which sampled 1836 location points across a total of 164 fields/land parcels. The aim of the survey was to quantify the impact of innovative land use and management on soil properties, with implications for natural flood management. The surveyed fields were selected to represent four broad land use and management classes (arable with and without grass in rotation, permanent grassland and broadleaf woodland) and five generalised soil/geology classes. Approximately eight fields were sampled for each of the twenty combinations of land use and soil/geology class. The sampled fields cover a range of traditional and innovative agricultural practices. Within each field/parcel, representative sampling locations were selected to cover the anticipated range of soil variability, including typical infield, untrafficked margins and trafficked headlands/tramlines etc. Sampling was undertaken once during the period 2018-2021. Samples were measured and analysed using a range of field and laboratory techniques (see Data Lineage). Point data include: 1. Survey point location (British National Grid coordinates) 2. Soil quantitative measurements (near-surface: 0 – 50 mm below ground level): dry bulk density, volumetric water content, organic matter, derived porosity, derived porosity accounting for variable organic matter, particle size distribution and texture classification 3. Vegetation quantitative measurements: maximum and minimum height 4. Soil qualitative measurements: hand texture classification, aggregate stability test slaking and dispersion results, hydrochloric acid test for calcareous soil, and for a subset of locations Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS) score 5. Observations (also classified into groups): soil surface condition (e.g. slaked/unslaked/capped/poached etc.), vegetation type Field contextual data include: 1. Land owner/manager responses to a land use and management questionnaire (primary data) including information on: crop types/rotation, cover crops, herbal leys, organic or conventional, organic amendments, lime additions, tillage, last ploughed, tramlines, buffer strips, field drainage, grass species, livestock, last grazed, stocking density, grazing weeks per year, stock out-wintering, mob or paddock grazing, woodland management, tree species, woodland age, path management, land use history, flooding history, waterlogging, water or sediment runoff 2. Classification of selected questionnaire free text responses into categories (derived secondary data) 3. General field observations (primary data) including: slope gradient and shape, surface form, surface water, surface condition (slaking, capped, ruts, wheelings, poaching etc.), soil erosion or deposition features As agreed with the survey participants, this dataset has been anonymised by removing location specific information, such as farm and field names, along with any other personally identifiable information. As also agreed, point data location coordinates have been degraded to the nearest 1 km grid point. The dataset was co-produced by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and Landwise Partners as part of the Landwise Natural Flood Management project, supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (Grant NE/R004668/1). The participation and assistance of the land owners and managers is gratefully acknowledged. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/9ab5285f-e9c4-4588-ba21-476e79e87668

The Land Cover Map 2024 (UK Land Cover Statistics) dataset summarises the coverage of different land cover types across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, classified into 21 UKCEH land cover classes, based upon Biodiversity Action Plan broad habitats. This data is provided in both .csv and geopackage (vector) formats. Statistics are calculated at country, county, and regional (England only) levels from the Land Cover Map 2024 (10 m classified pixels) datasets for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A full description of this and all UKCEH LCM2024 products are available from the LCM2024 product documentation. In addition to UKCEH as copyright holders, the Land Cover Map 2024 (UK Land Cover Statistics) products use digital boundary products and reference maps. The source of the data is the Office for National Statistics and they are licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. They contain OS data © Crown copyright and database right [2024]. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/0171ccb2-1c0c-404f-b782-e7204a86a92f