These data comprise culturable cell counts in different media from soil microbial analysis within a microcosm experiment investigating moisture perturbations on microbes, set up at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Oxford. The experiment used soil turves from outside the main experimental plots at Sourhope, Scotland, collected in July 2001. Soil moisture data are also included. Data were collected as part of the NERC Soil Biodiversity Thematic 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)'s farm at Sourhope in the Scottish Borders. During this time, the site was monitored to assess changes in aboveground biomass production (productivity), species composition and relative abundance (diversity). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/999b9188-1784-497a-bdce-8fdfbd03e15b

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