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.

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

The datasets were collected during experiments undertaken to examine survival rates and larval performance of Speckled Wood butterflies (Pararge aegeria) in different habitats (grassland and woodland). The experiments were carried out between 2008 and 2010 by the University of York, at sites in Yorkshire, Great Britain. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/ecb17680-da2e-49ae-b250-2d04a6a08d2a

Data are presented of enzymatic activity of soil collected from paired intensive and extensive grassland systems including low and high pH parent soils, from 32 sites across the United Kingdom. The samples were collected during winter and spring 2015-2016 by project staff experienced in soil core collection. Dry soil samples were analysed for a suit of extracellular hydrolytic enzyme activities. Fluorescently labeled substrates were used to enable the activity of the following enzymes to be measured. All analysis was carried out at CEH Wallingford. The data were collected to help understand soil functional change in a variety of management and climatic scenarios as part of NERC U-GRASS (Understanding and enhancing soil ecosystem services and resilience in UK grass and croplands) award (NERC Reference NE/M017125/1) part of the NERC Soil Security Programme. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/15026591-f803-4b18-a359-cd69ea0e6069

The dataset comprises of percentage plant cover by species observed by eye in a 1metre (m) x 1m quadrat. Measurements were recorded at six salt marsh sites at four spatial scales: 1 metre (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. Plant cover was measured during the winter and summer of 2013 for all six sites. 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/10.5285/90bdf4ff-03d9-4aa4-bcad-5139863ab188

This dataset contains measured daily values of precipitation, air and soil temperature, soil water content, measured net ecosystem exchange (NEE) fluxes using eddy covariance, calculated gross primary production (GPP), terrestrial ecosystem respiration (TER) and net biome production (NBP) fluxes using an online tool (http://www.bgc-jena.mpg.de/~MDIwork/eddyproc/upload.php), measured fluxes of methane and nitrous oxide using static chambers and measured fluxes of nitrous oxide using eddy covariance, measured fluxes of nitrogen oxides (NOx) using automatic chambers, measured nitrogen and carbon leaching, livestock density, nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) input from mineral and organic fertiliser and yield of a managed grassland (Easterbush, 03°02'W, 55°52' N, 190 m a.s.l ) in South East Scotland. Data were collected between January 2002 and December 2010. Furthermore the dataset contains one off soil carbon and nitrogen data collected in 2004 and 2010. The dataset also contains monthly dry N deposition data from a field nearby Easterbush (about 300 m distance) measured with a DELTA system from 2002-2010. The data were collected as part of the three European projects GREENGRASS (EC EVK2-CT2001-00105), the NitroEurope Integrated Project (contract 017841) and CarboEurope (Contract No. GOCE-CT-2003-505572). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/7e6e6955-a9d7-4f8a-961e-3fa3d56d0ead

Data from 38 experimental sites across the UK and Ireland were collated resulting in 623 separate mineral fertiliser N2O emission factors (EF) estimates derived from field measurements. Data were either i) extracted from published studies in which one aim of the experimentation was to explicitly measure N2O and report EFs after a mineral fertiliser application, or ii) raw data were used from the Agricultural and Environmental Data Archive (AEDA). To find the published data, a survey of literature was conducted using Google Scholar for articles considered ‘recent’ (20 years or fewer), i.e. published after January 1998 and submitted before April 2019. The following search terms and their variations were used: N2O, nitrous oxide, emission factor, mineral fertiliser, ammonium nitrate, urea, nitrification inhibitor, nitrogen use efficiency, agriculture, greenhouse gas, grassland and arable. This search based on keywords was complemented with a search through the literature cited in the articles found and known previous research. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/9948d1b9-caa1-4894-93e6-cc0f4326fced

Vegetation species and soil data from a large national survey of calcareous grasslands, carried out in Great Britain in 1990-1993 (referred to as 1990) and 2006-2009 (referred to as 2007). Up to 128 12x12m plots were surveyed from across the country, selected on the basis of being representative of the calcareous grassland type. Details about plant species and soils were collected using standardized survey methods. The 1990 survey was completed under a contract from the Department of the Environment, by Lancaster University. The repeat survey in 2007 was completed under a NERC Grant by staff from Lancaster University, York University, Radboud University, Countryside Commission for Wales, National Museum Wales and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/38a73c7b-3e3c-4517-a33f-bd28b292b9e1

The dataset consists of ACi (net CO2 assimilation rate, A, versus calculated substomatal CO2 concentration, Ci) curve data from an ozone experiment during which Trifolium repens and Lolium perenne were exposed as both monocultures and two-species mixtures to an episodic rural ozone regime in large, well-watered containers within solardomes for 12 weeks. Treatments were elevated ozone (AOT40 (Accumulated Ozone Threshold exposure of 40 parts per billion) of 12.86 ppm h) or control conditions (AOT40 of 0.02 ppm h). ACi curves were carried out mid-way and at the end of the exposure period using a Portable Photosynthesis System, CIRAS (PP-Systems) to calculate the photosynthetic parameters Jmax (maximum rate of photosynthetic electron transport) and Vcmax (maximum rate of Rubisco carboxylase activity). The observed decreases in photosynthetic efficiency and capacity in elevated ozone indicate that the ability of such ubiquitous vegetation to act as a sink for atmospheric carbon may be reduced in future climates. The experiment was carried out at the CEH Bangor Air Pollution Facility. This work was funded by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology Integrating Fund Initiative. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/f14b9056-ccc0-4887-812e-c004f613a138

The dataset comprises net primary productivity (NPP) measured as kilogrammes of dry above-ground vegetation per square metre per year. Sampling was conducted at six salt marsh sites at four spatial scales: 1 metre (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. NPP measurements were based on vegetation re-growth after cutting in winter 2013 and harvesting in summer 2013. This data was collected as part of Coastal Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (CBESS). 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/10.5285/2cbe3a8c-1a54-490d-a32d-078564c117b7