This dataset contains aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) estimates and litter layer depth measurements from five long-term grassland-to-woodland land use contrasts across England between 2018 and 2021. Each metric was measured once at each site. Litter layer depth was measured between November 2018 and March 2019 . Leaves were sampled for ANPP estimates in 2021. Each land use contrast was assigned a grassland and a woodland plot respectively. Each of these plots was further divided into three grids (grassland grids 1 to 3 / woodland grids 4 to 6) with grids 1 and 6 being the furthest apart. The contrast boundary is between grids 3 and 4. In each plot, nine sampling locations were randomly sampled (three in each grid). The five land use contrasts were: Gisburn (Gisburn-1, Gisburn-2), Alice Holt, Wytham Woods, and Kielder Forest. ANPP (g dry mass m-2 yr-1) was estimated from measured leaf dry matter content of the two dominant species in each grassland and woodland plot. Litter layer depth (cm) was measured with a ruler in the field. ANPP estimates and litter layer depth measurements in this dataset are co-located with soil physical, chemical and biological properties (0-1 m), soil hydraulic measurements (soil water release curves and hydraulic conductivity), and earthworm counts and identification. A file is provided to connect all co-located measurements. This project was part of the UK-SCAPE programme which started in 2018 and was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council as National Capability (award number NE/R016429/1). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/9156d263-4def-406d-bdc9-22a6821fe755

A time-series of leaf-level optical hyperspectral reflectance captured using a leaf-clip and handheld spectrometer for 17 herbaceous species typical of chalk grassland habitat in Kent UK, over 13 sampling dates in 2021. Data were collected using a non-imaging spectrometer manufactured by Spectra-vista Corporation fitted with a leaf-clip; capturing reflectance from 350 - 2500nm. Funded by NERC Grant NE/L002566/1.

[THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN].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

Data comprise measurements of plant biomass and community composition, soil microbial community composition, greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon and nitrogen pools from a drought experiment superimposed on a the long-term Colt Park grassland restoration experiment in northern England. Rainfall was manipulated using rain-out shelters on experimental grassland plots where fertiliser application and seed addition have been managed to enhance plant species diversity. The scientific purpose was to test the hypothesis that management aimed at biodiversity restoration increases the resistance and recovery of carbon cycling to short-term summer drought. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/8a41b2a2-01d7-409e-adf5-fba3f3770f29

This dataset contains baseline soil carbon and nitrogen content within a native forest creation site on the Beldorney Estate, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. 17 samples were collected on a 100 m grid at the site prior to planting. The 100 m grid was extended into adjacent grassland that won’t be planted and 8 additional samples were collected. The 100 m grid samples were all collected in September 2022. Within the planting area 17 plots were left unplanted, these will be used to track natural tree regeneration, and additional soil samples were collected here in November 2022. Soil carbon and nitrogen content will be tracked at the site as the planted and naturally regenerating trees establish. The work was supported by Natural Environment Research Council (NE/W004976/1) as part of the Agile Initiative at the Oxford Martin School and Leverhulme Trust as part of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery at the University of Oxford. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/75fc1418-b0ff-4dca-9b78-70c3c82d94b7

This dataset contains time series observations of surface-atmosphere exchanges of net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE), sensible heat (H) and latent heat (LE), and momentum (τ) measured at two managed lowland peatland environments in the East Anglian Fens, England, UK. One site is managed for the production of horticultural salad crops, the other is an area of managed grassland. Turbulent flux densities were monitored using the micrometeorological eddy covariance (EC) technique between 10th November 2016 and 25th September 2018 at the cropland site, and between 27th April 2017 and 31st March 2019 at the grassland. The dataset includes ancillary weather and soil physics observations, as well as variables describing atmospheric turbulence and the quality of the turbulent flux observations. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/2fe84b80-117a-4b19-a1f5-71bbd1dba9c9

The data consist of soil physicochemical and biological data for three soil depths (0-15, 15-30 and 30-60 cm) from a three-cut silage plot trial located at three grassland sites within the UK collected between April 2016 and October 2016. The sites were Rothamsted Research at North Wyke in Devon, Bangor University at Henfaes Research Station in North Wales, and Easter Bush in Scotland. At each site measurements were taken from sixteen plots, organised within a randomised complete block design: four (control) plots did not receive fertilizer, four plots received urea only, four plots received urea and urea-inhibitors, and four plots received ammonium-nitrate (Nitram). Fertiliser was applied three times and three cuts were performed. All parameters were measured following fertiliser application. Samples were taken before fertilizer additions at peak growth and before the last silage cut. Soil physical parameters were: aggregate size distribution, aggregate stability, texture (sand/silt/clay) and soil moisture. Soil chemical parameters were: soil nitrate and ammonium, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, amino acids and peptides, soil organic matter content as loss-on-ignition, pH, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, permanganate oxdisable carbon, citric acid extractable phosphorous, Olsen-P and total carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Soil biological measures were: microbial biomass, carbon and nitrogen. Microbial community composition and nitrogen genes were measured on the same soil samples and are presented in a separate dataset (https://doi.org/10.5285/59f81d41-a789-4c5c-8ab8-36baa7ac2c55) Measurements were undertaken by members of staff from the Centre of Ecology & Hydrology (Bangor, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Wallingford), Bangor University, School of Environment, Natural Resources & Geography and Rothamsted Research, Sustainable Agricultural Sciences, North Wyke. Data was collected for the Newton Fund project "UK-China Virtual Joint Centre for Improved Nitrogen Agronomy". Funded by Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and NERC - Ref BB/N013468/1 Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/7a87dde4-b54e-49b0-8751-1d59e8aebb90

The dataset comprises the pH of a 10 gram soil sample from the top 5 centimetre of soil taken within each 1 metre (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. 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/c726249f-c2d8-4aeb-9af2-60a40de40be2

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

This dataset contains botanical data from 13 calcareous grassland, 13 heathland and 12 woodland sites within Dorset, UK. The sites were selected to represent a range of habitat types across a condition gradient as measured by levels of degradation from the original habitat. The original habitats were identified as being calcareous grassland, heathland or woodland from a survey conducted in the 1930s. Within heathland and calcareous grassland sites the percentage cover of all plant species were recorded within five 1m quadrat squares. Plants were recorded to species level where possible, or genus where species level was not possible. Covers of bare ground and litter were also recorded. Within woodlands plots, sampling was done slightly differently to enable recording of ground level plants and species within multiple canopy levels. Cover and presence of all herbaceous species were recorded in 2m quadrat squares, cover of tree seedlings (<1.5 m height) were recorded in 5m quadrat squares and ground-level cover of trunk of tree species if necessary were recorded in 10m quadrat squares. Heathland and calcareous grassland sites were visited in summer 2017 and woodland sites were visited in summer 2018. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/8a75395f-7858-40a2-8364-eb3482aeaad1