The dataset collates the relative concentration of nearly 300 antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes found in soil locations across Scotland. Soils were obtained from the National Soils Inventory of Scotland (NSIS2), from which the total community DNA were extracted and provided to assess AMR gene content. Sampling of the NSIS2 was conducted between 2007-2010 at 183 soil locations representing intersections of a 20km grid across all of Scotland. For each sample, nearly 300 AMR genes were assessed representing major antibiotic classes, and included many resistance traits: aminoglycosides, beta-lactams, FCA (fluoroquinolone, quinolone, chloramphenicol, florfenicol and amphenicol resistance genes), MLSB (macrolide, lincosamide, streptogramin B), tetracycline, vancomycin, sulphonamide, efflux pumps and integron genes. The data represent relative gene abundance, i.e., the amount of genes per "total bacteria". Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/d3498e93-4ac5-4eab-bc1a-eb2328771d24

This dataset contains data on temperature and tritrophic phenology collected across 44 sites in Scotland for the period 2014 – 2021. Each site was visited every two days through the spring. The phenology of first budburst and leaf out of approx. 700 marked trees was recorded. Every four days marked branches were beaten and data was collected on the number of caterpillars (and spiders and beetles). Data on the breeding phenology (first egg date, hatch date) and breeding success of blue tits was recorded at 4-8 nestboxes per site. This work was supported by Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/P011802/1. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/b63d53ae-2fe7-4ce9-82a2-2325098489e3

This dataset consists of change data for areas of Broad Habitats across Great Britain between 1998 and 2007. The data are national estimates generated by analysing the sample data from up to 591 1km squares and scaling up to a national level. The data are summarized as percentage increase or decrease in habitat area per Land Class (areas of similar environmental characteristics) and are in a vector format. The sample sites are chosen from a stratified random sample, based on a 15 by 15 km grid of GB and using the 'ITE Land Classification' as a method of stratification. The data were collected as part of Countryside Survey, a unique study or 'audit' of the natural resources of the UK's countryside. The Survey has been carried out at regular intervals since 1978 by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The countryside is sampled and surveyed using rigorous scientific methods, allowing us to compare new results with those from previous surveys. In this way we can detect the gradual and subtle changes that occur in the UK's countryside over time. Surveys have been carried out in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1998 and 2007 with repeated visits to the majority of squares. In addition to habitat areas, vegetation species data, soil data, linear habitat data, and freshwater habitat data are also gathered by Countryside Survey. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/d83a0f9e-00c9-4d2d-9d0a-e92a16dcb334

These spatial layers contain risk factors and overall risk scores, representing relative risk of Phytophthora infection (Phytophthora ramorum and P. kernoviae), for heathland fragments across Scotland. Risk factors include climate suitability, proximity to road and river networks and suitability of habitat for key hosts of Phytophthora and were broadly concurrent with the period between 2007 and 2013. This research was funded by the Scottish Government under research contract CR/2008/55, 'Study of the epidemiology of Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae in managed gardens and heathlands in Scotland' and involved collaborators from St Andrews University, Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Forestry Commission, the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/8f09b7e6-6daa-4823-b338-4edad8de1461

[THIS DATASET HAS BEEN WITHDRAWN]. The Land Cover Map of Great Britain 1990 (1km dominant target class, GB), is a raster digital dataset, providing classification of land cover types into 25 classes, at a 1km resolution. The dataset consists of a 1km grid with a full set of the 25 target classes (or 'sub' classes). Each 1km contains the dominant habitat class, derived from a higher resolution (25m) dataset. The map was produced using supervised maximum likelihood classifications of Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper satellite data. The 25 mapped classes include sea and inland waters, bare, suburban and urban areas, arable farmland, pastures and meadows, rough grass, grass heaths and moors, bracken, dwarf shrub heaths and moorland, scrub, deciduous and evergreen woodland, and upland and lowland bogs. It can potentially be used to plan, manage or monitor agriculture, ecology, conservation, forestry, environmental assessment, water supplies, urban spread, transport, telecommunications, recreation and mineral extraction. The map was produced in the early 1990s by a forerunner of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, at Monks Wood. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/4e3fe599-1ae9-4dbb-9476-bfc74fe90b4e

This dataset provides linear trends, over varying time periods, for the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) Collated Indices of individual butterfly species across the UK. The main statistical values derived from a linear regression (slope, standard error, P-value) are presented for the entire time series for each species (1976 to 2014), for the last 20 years, and for the last decade. In addition a trend class, based on slope direction and its significance, and a percentage change for that time period are provided to describe the statistical trends. These trend data are provided for 59 UK butterfly species. Trends across different time series allow us to determine the long and short-term trends for individual species. This enables us to focus conservation and research and also to assess species responses to conservation already in place. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and Butterfly Conservation (BC) are responsible for the calculation and interpretation of this trend datasets. The collection of the underlying UKBMS data is reliant on a large volunteer community. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is funded by a consortium of organisations led by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). This dataset is updated annually and a more recent version of the UKBMS species trends (2015) is now available. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/93c14e8e-0353-469b-8adc-420c227ac8f4

This dataset contains prey items of common guillemot Uria aalge and razorbill Alca torda observed during the 2018 breeding season at East Caithness Special Protection Area (SPA), Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast SPA and Isle of May National Nature Reserve, off the east coast of Scotland. Diet of these two species has been studied on the Isle of May since the 1980s (Harris & Wanless 1985, 1986; Wilson et al 2004; Daunt et al. 2008; Thaxter et al 2013). To our knowledge, only two previous studies of diet has been undertaken at Buchan Ness to Collieston Coast SPA (in 2006, 6km to the north of the site used in this study; Anderson et al. 2014; and in 2017, using a similar protocol as in 2018; Daunt et al. 2017), and one previous study of diet has been undertaken at East Caithness SPA (2017; Daunt et al. 2017). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/d7164910-17cb-44cd-bccd-6a9c31b6ed70

This dataset consists of Particle Size Distribution (PSD) measurements made on 419 archived topsoil samples and derived aggregate stability metrics from arable and grassland habitats across Great Britain in 2007. Laser granulometry was used to measure PSD of 1–2 mm aggregates before and after sonication and the difference in their Mean Weight Diameter (MWD) used to indicate aggregate stability. The samples were collected as part of the Countryside Survey monitoring programme, a unique study or ‘audit’ of the natural resources of the UK’s countryside. The analyses were conducted as part of study aiming to quantify how soil quality indicators change across a gradient of agricultural land management and to identify conditions that determine the ability of different soils to resist and recover from perturbations. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/be3793b6-90fb-4e4c-9515-220cc33223b9

This dataset comprises individual site indices for UK butterfly species calculated from data from the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS). Site indices are a relative rather than an absolute measure of the size of a population, and have been shown to relate closely to other, more intensive, measures of population size such as mark, release, recapture (MRR) methods. The site index can be thought of as a relative measure of the population size, being a more or less constant proportion of the number of butterflies present. The proportion seen is likely to vary according to species; some butterfly species are more conspicuous and thus more easily detected, whereas others are much less easy to see. Site indices are only calculated at sites with sufficient monitoring visits throughout the season, or for targeted reduced effort surveys (timed observations, larval web counts and egg counts) where counts are generally obtained as close to the peak of the flight period as possible and are subsequently adjusted for the time of year and size of the site (area of suitable habitat type for a given species). Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) sites are thus excluded because they are based on very few visits from which indices of abundance are not calculated. For transect sites, a statistical model (a General Additive Model, 'GAM') is used to impute missing values and to calculate a site index. Each year most transect sites (over 90%) produce an index for at least one species and in recent years site indices have been calculated for over 2,000 sites across the UK. Site indices are subsequently collated to contribute to the overall 'Collated Index' for each species, which are relative measures of the abundance of each species across a geographical area, for example, across the whole UK or at country level for England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Individual site indices are important in informing conservation management as not all sites show the same patterns for each species and likely reflect a combination of local climate and habitat management at the site. The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme is organized and funded by Butterfly Conservation (BC), the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The UKBMS is indebted to all volunteers who contribute data to the scheme. This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/b77561d8-20ee-45ad-9221-7a8885d5ac8e

The dataset comprises densities of the major crustacean zooplankton taxa collected from Loch Leven, a large shallow lake in the lowlands of Scotland, between 1972-2007. Data are provided as numbers of individuals per litre for each taxa. The data were collected by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and its predecessor bodies, as part of the Loch Leven long-term monitoring programme. Methods of collection varied over the period of collection with samples generally collected at fortnightly intervals. There are significant gaps in the dataset during the 1980s when funding for monitoring was limited. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/014f1c48-0838-49ca-b059-f084b13f4d5f