This data resource provides plot-level plant occurrence data for the first seven years (2015-2021) of the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (covering the UK, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man). Data consist of individual observations of plants, and other habitat characteristics, at the metre-scale; observations are accompanied by percentage cover information recorded according to the Domin frequency-abundance scale commonly used in plant community ecology. Other information provided includes the plot type (size, shape, according to the NPMS classification), the volunteer-recorded NPMS habitat, the date of sampling, and information regarding the spatial location of the plot. Information contained within the metadata file should allow users to reconstruct the sampling history (including gaps) of any plot that has been sampled within the NPMS scheme between 2015 and 2021. 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/e742c94f-82a4-43e7-af14-36b131afe81b

Hydrological monitoring data in this data collection result from dipwells installed at studied flood defence scheme, where electronic gauges monitored water-table fluctuations over time. Ecological data contain species sighting records of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies recorded during site visits to flood defence schemes in summer 2007. These data aim to show the relationship between water regimes and habitat potential.The study is part of the NERC Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme. Agricultural Flood Defence Schemes in floodplain and coastal areas were once an important element of Government support for farmers in Britain. More recently, however, changing priorities in the countryside, concern about environmental quality and perceptions of increased flood risk in lowland areas, in part linked to climate change, have promoted a re-appraisal of land management options and policies for floodplain areas. Eight agricultural flood defence schemes, previously studied by the research team in the 1980s, have been re-examined to identify and explain changes in land and water management that have occurred over the last 40-years. This involved stakeholder and institutional analysis, farmer interviews, ecological surveys, field observations and modelling of hydrological and related ecological processes. Generic land use scenarios have been developed to consider management options that focus on single objectives, such as maximising agricultural production, maximising biodiversity and minimising flood risk in the catchment. The scenarios examined the impacts of changes in rural land use on ecosystem goods and services. The influence of agricultural policy, interacting with farmer circumstances and motivation, on land use has also been explored. The project also evaluated the impacts of the summer 2007 floods on agriculture and rural communities. The results revealed opportunities for achieving a wide range of benefits relating to farming, biodiversity, amenity, flood management, water quality and the wider rural economy. The study informed strategies for floodplain management, helping to develop approaches that are appealing to major stakeholders. Historical data on the studied flood defence schemes, farm business survey data and interviews with farmers at flood defence schemes, and interviews with farmers and rural businesses affected by summer floods in 2007 are available at the UK Data Archive under study number 6377 (see related resources). Further documentation for this study may be found through the RELU Knowledge Portal and the project's ESRC funding award web page (see online resources).

This data set consists of various hydrological measurements taken over two years of instrumental monitoring in fields of willow and Miscanthus crops from a study as part of the NERC Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme. Future policies are likely to encourage more land use under energy crops: principally willow, grown as short rotation coppice, and a tall exotic grass Miscanthus. These crops will contribute to the UK's commitment to reduce CO2 emissions. However, it is not clear how decisions about appropriate areas for growing the crops, based on climate, soil and water, should be balanced against impacts on the landscape, social acceptance, biodiversity and the rural economy. This project integrated social, economic, hydrology and biodiversity studies in an interdisciplinary approach to assessing the impact of converting land to Miscanthus grass and short-rotation coppice (SRC) willows. Two contrasting farming systems were focused on: the arable-dominated East Midlands; and grassland-dominated South West England. This data set consists of various hydrological measurements taken over two years of instrumental monitoring in fields of both crops. GIS and biodiversity survey datasets are also available. The public attidues questionnaire data from this study are available at the UK Data Archive under study number 6615 (see online resources). Further documentation for this study may be found through the RELU Knowledge Portal and the project's ESRC funding award web page (see online resources).

This data resource provides plot-level plant occurrence data for the first eight years (2015-2022) of the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (covering the UK, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man). Data consist of individual observations of plants, and other habitat characteristics, at the metre-scale; observations are accompanied by percentage cover information recorded according to the Domin frequency-abundance scale commonly used in plant community ecology. Other information provided includes the plot type (size, shape, according to the NPMS classification), the volunteer-recorded NPMS habitat, the date of sampling, and information regarding the spatial location of the plot. Information contained within the metadata file should allow users to reconstruct the sampling history (including gaps) of any plot that has been sampled within the NPMS scheme between 2015 and 2022. 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/f7ef2dc5-2bce-4436-8f65-90f7a99acff2

The semiochemical experiment data were collected from novel laboratory, semi-field- and field-scale bioassay experiments taking behavioural observations and counts of pest insects and their natural enemies in the field. Crop yields were taken. Chemical analyses were also done using air entrainment. The study is part of the NERC Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) programme. Despite the widespread concerns regarding the use of pesticides in food production and the availability of potentially viable biological pest control strategies in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems, the UK cereal crop production remains a bastion of pesticide use. This project aimed to understand further the reasons for this lack of adoption, using the control of summer cereal aphids as a case study. Reasons for this lack of adoption of biocontrol remain a complex interplay of both technical and economic problems. Economists highlight the potential path dependency of an industry to continue to employ a suboptimal technology, caused by past dynamics of adoption resulting in differential private cost structures of each technique. Further, risk aversion on the part of farmers regarding the perceived efficacy of a new technology may also limit up-take. This may be particularly important when IPM rests on portfolios of technologies and when little scientific understanding exists on the effect of portfolio and scale of adoption on overall efficacy. Faced with this, farmers will not adopt a socially superior IPM technology and there exists a clear need for public policy action. This action may take the form of minimising uncertainty through carefully designed research programs, government funding and dissemination of the results of large-scale research studies or direct public support for farm landscape and farm system changes that can promote biocontrol. This research looked at alternatives to the use of insecticides in arable agriculture and the difficulties facing producers in switching over to them. Two approaches were explored: habitat manipulations, to encourage predators and parasites, and using naturally occurring odours to manipulate predator distribution as model technologies. Scale and portfolio effects on biocontrol efficacy have been investigated in controlled and field scale experiments. Aim is to improve the way research and development of new products and techniques are carried out to help break the dependence on chemical pesticides. Conservation biological control experiments data investigating the effect of wild field margins on pests and predators, from this same research project, are also available. In addition, socio-economic research has been used to help direct natural science research into the development and evaluation of a combination of habitat management and semiochemical push-pull strategies of appropriate scale and complementarity to yield viable, commercially attractive and sustainable alternatives to the use of insecticides in cereal crop agriculture. These socio-economic data are available through the UK Data Archive under study number 6960 (see online resources). Further information and documentation for this study may be found through the RELU Knowledge Portal and the project's ESRC funding award web page (see online resources).

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil moisture observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2022. These data are from 51 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables. Each site in the network records the following hydrometeorological and soil data at 30-minute resolution: Radiation (short wave, long wave, and net), precipitation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity, soil heat flux, and soil temperature and volumetric water content (VWC), measured by point sensors at various depths. Each site hosts a cosmic-ray sensing probe; a novel sensor technology which counts fast neutrons in the surrounding atmosphere. In combination with the recorded hydrometeorological data, neutron counts are used to derive VWC over a field scale (COSMOS VWC), at two temporal resolutions (hourly and daily). The presence of snow leads to erroneously high measurements of COSMOS VWC due to all the extra water in the surrounding area. Included in the daily data are indications of snow days, on which, the COSMOS VWC are adjusted, and the snow water equivalent (SWE) is given. The potential evapotranspiration (PE), derived from recorded hydrometeorological and soil are also included at daily resolution. Two levels of quality control are carried out, firstly data is run through a series of automated checks, such as range tests and spike tests, and then all data is manually inspected each week where any other faults are picked up, including sensor faults or connection issues. Quality control flags are provided for all recorded (30 minute) data, indicating the reason for any missing data. 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/10.5285/5060cc27-0b5b-471b-86eb-71f96da0c80f

This data resource provides plot-level habitat data for the first eight years (2015-2022) of the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (covering the UK, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man). Data consist of surveyor-recorded habitat information on repeated samples of fixed plots at the metre-scale. Other information includes the date of sampling, data regarding the spatial location of the plot, and an assessment of whether or not the recorded broad habitat is reported to have changed between surveyor visits. 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/a12b5c70-c0e2-48cf-b0b7-3e95791feca9

Data comprise results of social surveys carried out in China during 2016 – 2018 to environmental scientists and the local stakeholders (farmers and village to county level officials) to understand their knowledge learning dynamics and preference. Surveys were conducted in the rural villages in Puding County, Guizhou Province, Changwu County, Shaanxi Province, and Yujiang County, Jiangxi Province. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/e674e08c-fbf5-411b-940c-7e31014f0e76

[This dataset is embargoed until September 30, 2023]. The dataset contains: (i) estimates of zinc tolerance for 50 populations of Silene uniflora in the UK and Ireland generated between 03/2021 and 09/2021. The data were collected using cuttings from wild collected specimens. Root growth of cuttings in zinc rich media was assessed using deep water culture experiments. The data set contains the zinc tolerance (mean and standard deviations of root growth scores) and the number of cuttings assessed for each population; (ii) GPS positions describing the locations of 56 populations of Silene uniflora in the UK and Ireland which were observed between 2018 and 2021. Basic habitat type (montane, serpentine, mine, coastal) information is also included. The work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council NE/R001081/1. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/af4735e3-b5ba-4e0b-8a41-503eeff89a82

This dataset contains bird and butterfly abundance data from field-surveyed transects at Hillesden, UK (2006-2017). Over this time period, Hillesden hosted two five-year experimental manipulations of agri-environmental habitats, alongside monitoring of their impacts on biodiversity and agronomic indicators. This dataset contains data suitable for analysis of ten-year interannual population trends across both 5-year phases of experimental work at Hillesden, and subsequent comparison with equivalent trends derived from equivalent national recording schemes (Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) for birds, Wider Countryside Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (WCBMS) for butterflies). The data thus relate only to transects which were recorded consistently (nine for birds, seven for butterflies), and to species that were present on the majority of transects. This dataset thus represents a subset from the whole Hillesden biological survey dataset for these two groups, and contains maximum annual counts per transect, across monthly visits (April-August) within the permitted time frame from equivalent national recording schemes (BBS for birds, WCBMS for butterflies). Data were collected as part of a project led by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, funded by Defra, with analytical work funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under research programme NE/N018125/1 ASSIST. ASSIST is an initiative jointly supported by NERC and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/c8d0ac67-6d47-42b1-af29-2339be8a5d82