University of Reading
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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
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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
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[This nonGeographicDataset is embargoed until December 1, 2025]. This dataset encompasses 1) Detailed measurements of root architecture parameters - numerical values for Total length (cm), Area (cm²), Surface area (cm²), Average diameter (mm); Root volume (cm³), Number of tips, forks, and crossings; and 2) The physiological responses of poplar trees under varying light conditions - measurements of Transpiration rate (mmol m⁻² s⁻¹), Net CO₂ assimilation rate (µmol m⁻² s⁻¹), Intercellular CO₂ concentration (µmol mol⁻¹), Intercellular CO₂ partial pressure (Pa), and Stomatal conductance to water vapour (mol m⁻² s⁻¹). Data were generated in a glasshouse experiment under elevated CO₂ (740 µmol mol⁻¹). The Root Architecture data was collected when the trees were six months old. Net Photosynthesis Light Curves were recorded at four time points, starting when the poplar trees were two months old and continuing until they were six months old. The root architecture data were obtained through WinRhizo scanning and software (Regent Instruments Inc., Quebec City, QC, Canada). The physiological measurements were recorded using LI-6800P Portable Photosynthesis System (LI-COR Biosciences, Lincoln, NE, USA). To construct the light curves, measurements were taken starting from a maximum light intensity of 1500 PPFD (µmol m⁻² s⁻¹) and subsequently decreased to 800, 200 and 50 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ until no light was applied. In this experiment, micro-propagated poplar clones were cultivated under four different conditions: without fungi (fungal-free plants), with ectomycorrhizal fungi (ectomycorrhizal plants), with saprotrophic fungi (saprotrophic fungal plants), and with both ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi (fungal plants). The purpose of the experiment was to evaluate plant performance under the influence of different fungal guilds and their interactions. Full details about this nonGeographicDataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/82721bfc-d707-4255-bc5b-4d5882f9881b
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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
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Data consist of field spectral reflectance measurements and surface photographs of cyanobacterial soil crusts and other surficial materials in Diamantina National Park, Queensland. Data were collected as part of project NE/K011626/1 (associated with NE/K011464/1) Multiscale Impacts of Cyanobacterial Crusts on Landscape Stability. The reflectance data and associated surface photographs are of biological and physical soil crusts developed on claypan and sand dune surfaces alongside the Diamantina River (specifically on and around Lake Constance pan and Homestead pan. Data were collected and processed by Kevin White and Ian Davenport, using a Spectra Vista Hr1024i spectrometer with a spectralon reference panel. All data were processed using SVC Hr1024i PC Data acquisition software (version 1.6.7 Beta) to remove areas of spectral overlap. Photographs taken using a range of mobile device cameras. All field photographs are in JPEG (jpg) format. Data were collected for the purpose of assessing the ability to remotely sense presence/absence of cyanobacterial soil crusts for mapping purposes. Data are organised into a directory structure based on specific field experiments, each with its own directory structure. Dataset 1: Calcrete Reflectance Spectra, Diamantina National Park. Calcrete exposures are common in Diamantina National Park, forming flat-topped hills known locally as 'Jump-Ups'. Calcretes creat false positives with the commonly used biological soil crust indices from remote sensing data, so field spectra of calcretes were collected to characterise their spectral reflectance to assist with image processing. Dataset 2: Lake Constance Pan Mapping project Field Photographs, Reflectance Spectra and field notes, Lake Constance Clay Pan, Diamantina National Park. This dataset is a repeat survey undertaken in 2015, which revisited sample points first surveyed as part of the so-called 'MAM survey' in 2000. Dataset 3: Solar Radiation Photosynthesis experiment Field Photographs and Reflectance Spectra from three locations in Diamantina National Park, Lake Constance pan, a duneflank site on ‘Crusty Inlet dune’ (where no photosynthesis could be stimulated) and Homestead pan. The Homestead pan experiment was run twice (Winter 2015 and Summer 2016). Dataset 4: Shade netting experiment Spectral Reflectance measurements of a spectralon panel were taken under the shade netting to characterise the transmissivity of the netting at different solar elevation angles. Dataset 5: Photographic cards Spectral reflectance measurements of a set of photographic reference cards, which were included in the frame of all the surface photographs collected for this project. Dataset 6: Mobile Device experiment Field Photographs taken with a range of mobile device cameras (Moto G, Nexus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1) and two cameras (Nikon Coolpix P610 and Nikon Coolpix 950 Full Spectrum), and associated reflectance spectra data, for 5 study sites Crusty Inlet Pan Surface, Crusty Inlet Dune North Flank, Lake Constance Pan and Homestead Dune. Dataset 7: Rainfall simulator Spectral reflectance data and associated field notes of sites used in a rainfall simulator/wind tunnel experiment, Lake Constance claypan (which formed part of the associated NERC project NE/K011464/1)
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Relative surface soil moisture for the Thames Valley, United Kingdom, October 2015 to September 2021
This dataset includes relative surface soil moisture across the Thames Valley, between October 2015 and September 2021, using backscatter radar data collected using the ESA Sentinel-1 Constellation. Radar backscatter was normalised to 40 incidence angle, using a novel monthly normalisation parameterisation. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/b23d63d1-dcc5-4c49-a6b5-67154f3739b7
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This resource comprises abundance data for invertebrates, pest damage to apples, and yields from an agroforestry system subject to two different understorey management treatments, comprising an unmown flowering understorey and a mown understorey. The data was collected from an intercropped apple-arable agroforestry site in Screveton, Nottinghamshire, UK, from five experimental blocks, each block split between the two understorey management treatments. The data was collected between April and September 2020. Data was collected using (i) pitfall traps, (ii) sticky traps, (iii) visual searches of apple trees for natural enemies, pests and fruit damage from pests and disease, (iv) flower visitation counts for pollinators, (v) apple fruit yield and quality metrics, and (vi) grain yield samples. The data was collected to compare the effect of understorey management in agroforestry on functional invertebrates and associated ecosystem services. All data was collected by Tom Staton (University of Reading). Three pitfall traps were damaged and are excluded from the dataset, comprising (i) Visit 1, Block 2, Mown treatment, Position 4; (ii) Visit 4, Block 2, Mown treatment, Position 3; and (iii) Visit 4, Block 3, Unmown treatment, Position 2. The research was funded under NERC grant NE/R012229/1 Quantitative and Modelling Skills in Ecology and Evolution (QMEE) CDT Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/83a10b11-23ef-4378-a56d-c63cce365275
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These datasets contain aphid/parasitoid abundances and glucosinolate concentrations associated with Brassica napus plants within eight field-based diesel exhaust and ozone fumigation rings located at the University of Reading’s Sonning farm. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/b28c13f2-7355-4c4b-8c34-10470e1772d1
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Repeat electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements were conducted over four sites to capture the changing resistivity of the soil throughout the agricultural growing season, with measurements taken in Spring, Summer, and Autumn to detect the change between the construction, production, and post-harvest stages of the crop. Initial measurements were undertaken in April/May, Summer measurements in June/July, and final measurements in September 2021. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/7d09c677-134f-49ae-8128-6bc00784967a
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This dataset contains information about photosynthesis and gas exchange from tree species in Alice Holt Forest, Hampshire, UK. Data were collected between 18th-20th July 2023, alongside other observations examining the forest canopy structure and photosynthesis. Leaves were sampled across one hazel tree within the understory, and two oak trees. Data from the oak trees were collected with height, using a 12 m tower (six 2 m platforms), with leaves sampled across three platforms. The photosynthesis parameters were collected using a Handy PEA+ continuous excitation chlorophyll fluorimeter and gas exchange data were collected using a LI-COR 6400. This research was funded by UKRI NERC as part of the SPLICE project (NE/W006596/1). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/40365cee-fda6-402f-9839-c206463dbe7d
NERC Data Catalogue Service