The data set comprises biomass values and mineral nutrient values from experimental plots located at Sourhope, Scotland. On five occasions throughout each of the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 growing seasons, grass cuttings were collected from a 50 x 50 cm cell area from each of the four main sub-plots within each of a set of experimental main-plots, and biomass values calculated. In addition, mineral nutrient analysis was carried out for the July 1999 grass cuttings. The work was part of the NERC Soil Biodiversity Thematic Programme, which was established in 1999 and was centred upon the intensive study of a large field experiment located at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (now the James Hutton Institute) farm at Sourhope in the Scottish Borders (Grid reference: NT 8545 1963). During the experiment, the site was monitored to assess changes in above-ground biomass production (productivity), species composition and relative abundance (diversity). The primary aims of the Programme were to achieve simultaneously an understanding of the biological diversity of the soil biota and the functional roles played by soil organisms in key ecological processes. In seeking to achieve these aims, 24 separate research projects were funded to study soil structure, soil processes (such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles) and the roles of micro-fauna and flora (Bacteria, Nematoda, Protozoa and Fungi), microarthropods (including Collembola and Acari), invertebrate root feeders (Tipulid, Bidionid and Scarabeid larvae), meso-fauna (such as Enchytraeidae) and macro-fauna (including Megadrili, Mollusca and Coleoptera). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/1a278fbf-b8b2-472d-9100-5fb432095f63

These data are benthic organic matter stocks of coarse and fine particulate organic matter in eight Welsh upland rivers with contrasting land-use, moorland and exotic conifer, in response to riparian deciduous leaf addition. Eight sampling reaches were chosen at two sites, Llyn Brianne (4 reaches) and Plynlimon (4 reaches). The experiment consisted of adding deciduous leaves to half of the reaches whilst the other half were maintained as a control (no addition of deciduous leaves). To characterise the benthic organic matter of the studied streams, a Surber net was used to collect monthly samples during 2013 on January (before deciduous leaf addition) and from February to April (after deciduous leaf addition) in each sampling reach. The main goal of this survey was to examine how aquatic biodiversity and organic matter stocks respond to leaf addition in moorland and conifer forested rivers. Dr Isabelle Durance was responsible of organising the surveys, Marian Pye was in charge of collecting, processing and sorting the samples. The work was carried out under Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project (Grant reference NERC NE/J014818/1). DURESS was a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/32eaf811-be10-40cb-9794-7c5a1b97a915

This dataset contains vegetation survey data and nitrate and ammonium concentrations, microbial biomass data, particle size, and nitrification and mineralisation rates within soils from an experiment based at Parsonage Down, UK. The vegetation survey comprises total species percentage cover and species richness data from four 50 cm by 50 cm quadrats. The experiment investigated the effect of different plant groups on soil carbon stores and nutrient cycling, by using a mixture of hand weeding and herbicide spot spraying to create different plant communities on the species rich grassland at Parsonage Down. The resulting carbon and nutrient cycling rates were compared to the characteristics of the plant groups. The experiment ran from 2013 to 2015 and this dataset contains data from 2013 only. This experiment was part of the Wessex BESS project, a six-year (2011-2017) project aimed at understanding how biodiversity underpins the ecosystem functions and services that landscapes provide. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/4c7c9343-0624-4249-9ab2-183d49d41fe6

These data comprise arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi diversity data from Sourhope field experiment site. AM fungi are biotrophic symbionts colonizing the majority of land plants, and are of major importance in plant nutrient supply. Using the terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) strategy, the diversity of AM fungi was assessed in 89 roots of three grass species (Agrostis capillaris, Festuca rubra, Poa pratensis) that co-occurred in the same plots of the Sourhope field experiment. The impact of different soil amendments (nitrogen, lime, nitrogen and lime) and insecticide application on AM fungal community was also recorded. Data were collected during a project funded under the NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme, established in 1999 and centred upon the intensive study of a large field experiment located at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (now the James Hutton Institute) farm at Sourhope in the Scottish Borders (Grid reference: NT 8545 1963). During the experiment, the site was monitored to assess changes in above-ground biomass production (productivity), species composition and relative abundance (diversity). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/5aa0e9ee-9604-4cba-a1ae-5d6708cf6438

These data are algal production values in eight Welsh upland rivers with contrasting land-use, moorland and exotic conifer, in response to riparian deciduous leaf addition. Eight sampling reaches were chosen at two sites, Llyn Brianne (4 reaches) and Plynlimon (4 reaches). The experiment consisted of adding deciduous leaves to half of the reaches whilst the other half were maintained as a control (no addition of deciduous leaves). In order to characterise the algal production of the studied streams, algal biofilm samples were collected from tiles previously placed, during January 2013 (before deciduous leaf addition) and March 2013 (after deciduous leaf addition) in each sampling reach. The main goal of this survey was to examine how aquatic biodiversity and organic matter stocks respond to deciduous leaf addition in moorland and conifer forested rivers. Dr Isabelle Durance was responsible for organising the surveys, Dr Hugh Feeley, Dr Anne-Laure Sauvadet and Marian Pye were in charge of collecting, processing and sorting the samples. The work was carried out under Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project (Grant reference NERC NE/J014818/1). DURESS was a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/f13b0975-6af4-4315-9e4f-63a1cb4bd796

These data are macroinvertebrate composition and abundance in eight Welsh upland rivers with contrasting land-use, moorland and exotic conifer, in response to riparian deciduous leaf addition. Eight sampling reaches were chosen at two sites, Llyn Brianne (4 reaches) and Plynlimon (4 reaches). The experiment consisted of adding deciduous leaves to half of the reaches whilst the other half were maintained as control (no addition). Nylon mesh bags containing deciduous leaves were fixed in both experimental and control reaches to estimate leaf decomposition rates. The macroinvertebrate composition of the nylon mesh bags was surveyed in January 2013 and again in March 2013 in each sampling reach. The main goal of this survey was to examine how aquatic biodiversity responds to leaf addition in moorland and conifer forested rivers. Dr Isabelle Durance was responsible for organising the surveys, Dr Hugh Feeley, Dr Dan Perkins and Marian Pye were in charge of collecting, processing and sorting the invertebrate samples. The work was carried out under Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project (Grant reference NERC NE/J014818/1). DURESS was a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/3e6a9ffd-59f2-48ea-840b-1582dc6c1e3d

These data consist of raw 16S rRNA gene sequences for the bacterial communities in three upland Welsh river sites under different treatments. A mapping file with metadata for each sample is provided and a operational taxonomic unit (OTU) table. These sites were situated in three streams from the Llyn Brianne Stream Observatory, Powys, Wales, UK (52°08' N, 3°45' W). The catchments cover approximately 300 square kilometres of upland Wales in the upper Afon Tywi. These first to third order experimental streams rise in either rough, sheep-grazed moorland (named as L6 and L7) or plantations of Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis with lodgepole pine Pinus contorta (named as L3). Some reductions of forest cover have occurred in L3 with normal logging operations. A 24-hour experiment was conducted at the Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) cascading flumes at these streams during September 2014. Each flume consisted of 3 channels, each assigned a different treatment: control, sugar addition and peat addition. Sugar (sucrose) and peat were added to channels to represent a simple and complex form of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) respectively. Five biofilm samples were collected from random locations in each experimental channel. Samples were taken at 0.5, 3, 15 and 24 hours after the start of the experiment. Epilithon were taken from unglazed ceramic tiles that had been colonised by epilithon in the river. After amplification, the 16S rRNA fragments were sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq next generation sequencing platform. The main goal of this survey was to characterise bacterial diversity, the chemical and biological consequences of elevated DOC inputs, and to investigate the role of bacterial organisms in controlling organic carbon flux. Prof Andy Weightman and Dr Isabelle Durance were responsible for organising the experiments. Sampling was carried out by Dr. Isa-Rita Russo and a team of Post Doctoral Research Assistants (PDRA's)/students. The work was carried out under the Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project (Grant reference NERC NE/J014818/1). DURESS was a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/df829b9f-c4c5-4e53-9217-c9c1e5bd078d

These data are for macroinvertebrate taxonomy and abundance of Welsh upland rivers. The sampling sites were located in small and medium catchments across Wales. Sampling took place in either spring 2013 for sites in the Wye catchment or during 2012 for the other catchments. At each sampling point, 2-minute kick-samples were taken from river riffles to represent macroinvertebrate composition. Samples were preserved in industrial methylated spirit on site. Samples were then sorted and identified in the laboratory. The main goal of this survey was to characterise a gradient of aquatic biodiversity associated with different environmental settings for example land-use intensify and recovery from acidification. Dr Isabelle Durance was the responsible of organising the surveys, Dr Hugh Feeley was in charge of collecting, processing and sorting the invertebrate samples. Kath Layer was commissioned by Cardiff University for the identification. The work was carried out under Diversity in Upland Rivers for Ecosystem Service Sustainability (DURESS) project (Grant reference NERC NE/J014818/1). DURESS was a project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/8f7b2269-73b1-449f-8590-e36c7c850913

The dataset details vegetation composition of UK saltmarshes measured from quadrats across UK saltmarshes. Between 2018 and 2021, vegetation surveys were carried out at 460 sites across 33 saltmarshes as part of the Carbon Storage in Intertidal Environments (C-SIDE) project to develop an understanding the linkages between saltmarsh soil organic carbon and vegetation. Sites were chosen to represent contrasting habitats types in the UK, in particular sediment types, vegetation and sea level history. The dataset comprises of percentage species cover, plant height, plant richness and plant diversity data from 33 UK saltmarshes. The work was carried out under the NERC programme - Carbon Storage in Intertidal Environment (C-SIDE), NERC grant reference NE/R010846/1. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/7815291a-ee3e-49a7-8ef1-e8baa81f4964

The data comprise measurements of abundance of invasive species, illuminance, air temperature, air humidity, specific leaf area, species richness, species diversity, vegetation cover, biomass, decomposition rate and, carbon efflux that was made during filed campaigns to assess the impact of an invasive grass (Urochloa decumbens) on a tropical savanna (Cerrado) in two nature reserve areas in Brazil. The two experimental areas were located within natural reserves in Southeast and Central Brazil; Estação Ecológica de Itirapina in the municipalities of Brotas and Itirapina in São Paulo State, and Parque Nacional de Brasília in the Distrito Federal. Data were collected during multiple field excursions between March and September 2019. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/abcabfe2-612c-4cab-b626-641002fc442e