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This dataset contains time series observations of surface-atmosphere exchanges of carbon, water, and energy, as well as supporting micrometeorological, soil physics, and vegetation measurements. Data have been obtained at ten eddy covariance (EC) flux observation sites across England and Wales. Sites were active for different time periods between 2018 and 2023. Flux data include net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE), sensible heat (H), and latent heat (LE). Examples of ancillary and vegetation data include measurements of air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, components of radiation, soil heat flux, soil temperature and moisture, precipitation, water table depth, biomass, leaf area index (LAI), and canopy height. 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.

Excessive phytoplankton concentrations in rivers can result in the loss of plant and invertebrate communities, and threaten drinking water supplies. Whilst the physicochemical controls on algal blooms have been identified previously, how these factors combine to control the initiation, size, and cessation of blooms in rivers is not well understood. We applied flow cytometry to quantify diatom, chlorophyte, and cyanobacterial group abundances in the River Thames (UK) at weekly intervals from 2011 to 2022, alongside physicochemical data. A niche modeling approach was used to identify thresholds in water temperature, flow, solar radiation, and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations required to produce periods of phytoplankton growth, with blooms only occurring when all thresholds were met. The thresholds derived from the 2011 to 2018 dataset were applied to a test data set (2019–2022), which predicted the timing and duration of blooms at accuracies of > 80%. Diatoms and nano-chlorophyte blooms were initiated by flow and water temperature, and usually terminated due to temperature and flow going out of the threshold range, or SRP and Si becoming limiting. Cyanobacterial bloom dynamics were primarily controlled by water temperature and solar radiation. This simple methodology provides a key understanding of phytoplankton community succession and inter-annual variation and can be applied to any river with similar water quality and phytoplankton data. It provides early warnings of algal and cyanobacterial bloom timings, which support future catchment management decisions to safeguard water resources, and provides a basis for modeling changing phytoplankton bloom risk due to future climate change.

High-resolution monitoring of water quality and ecosystem functioning over large spatial scales in expansive lowland river catchments is challenging. Therefore, we need modeling tools to predict these processes at locations where observations are absent. Here, we present a new approach to estimate ecosystem metabolism underpinned by a high-resolution, process-based model of in-stream flows and water quality. The model overcomes the current challenges in metabolism modeling by accounting for oxygen transport under varying flows and oxygen transformations due to biogeochemical processes. We implement the model in a 62-km-long stretch of the River Thames, England, using observations spanning 2 yr. Model outputs suggest that the river is primarily autotrophic from mid-spring to mid-summer due to high biomass during low-flow periods, and is heterotrophic during the rest of the year. Ecosystem respiration in upstream reaches is driven mainly by biochemical oxygen demand, autotrophic respiration, and nitrification processes, whereas downstream sites also show a control of benthic oxygen demand in addition to the aforementioned processes. Using empirical modeling, we analyze the sensitivity of our estimated metabolism rates to multiple environmental stressors. Results demonstrate that empirical models could be useful for rapid river health assessments, but need improvements to reproduce peak metabolism rates. The process-based model, although more complex than existing in situ approaches to metabolism quantification, allows inference when gaps in continuous observations are present. The model offers additional benefits for predicting metabolism rates under future scenarios of environmental change incorporating multiple stressor effects.

Summary of findings so far • Management of near surface soil properties and preferential flow pathways is important so that deeper soil water storage is available and accessible. • Land use and management practices can significantly enhance soil physical and hydrological/hydraulic properties and flood mitigation potential • Increasing organic matter content increases soil porosity, creating more soil water storage and potential to mitigate flooding. • Fields with ‘low’ starting organic matter content can greatly improve soil porosity therefore soil water storage with relatively modest organic matter increases. • Organic additions are not the only way to improve soil structure, innovative management practices (e.g. controlled traffic and min till) also improve soil structure, saturated hydraulic conductivity and therefore NFM potential. • Mature woodland has the highest organic matter content, soil porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and NFM potential relative to arable and grass land use. • Effects of arable rotations and inclusion of grass in rotations are being investigated.

Summary of findings so far… • Land use and management can significantly enhance soil physical and hydrological/hydraulic properties and flood mitigation potential • Soil management important improve near surface soil properties and reduce preferential flow pathways to increase infiltration of rainfall into soil and reduce runoff. • Increasing organic matter content increases soil porosity, creating more soil water storage and potential to mitigate flooding. • Fields with ‘low’ starting organic matter content can greatly improve soil porosity therefore soil water storage with relatively modest organic matter increases • Organic additions are not the only way to improve soil structure, innovative arable management practices (e.g. controlled traffic and min till) also improve soil structure, increase saturated hydraulic conductivity and therefore NFM potential. • Mature broadleaf woodland has the highest organic matter content, soil porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and NFM potential relative to arable and grassland. • Further analysis and quantification ongoing…

LANDWISE examines the NFM potential of land use and management in lowland catchments. We focussed on five soil types on two geologies; across agricultural land, grassland and woodland. We compared conventional and innovative farming systems and gathered empirical evidence of variation within and between fields. We show that near-surface soil properties and management is important for deeper soil water storage. We show that land use, management and organic matter content are significant in affecting soil properties and increasing NFM potential.

Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probes (CRNP) have found application in soil moisture (SM) estimation due to their conveniently large (>100 m) footprints. Here, we explore the possibility of using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) moderator to limit the field of view, and hence, the footprint of a SM sensor formed of 12 CRNP mounted on to a mobile robotic platform (Thorvald) for better in-field localization of moisture variation. Ultra Rapid Adaptable Neutron-Only Simulation neutron scattering simulations are used to show that 5 cm of additional HDPE moderator (used to shield the upper surface and sides of the detector) is sufficient to (a) reduce the footprint of the detector considerably, (b) approximately double the percentage of neutrons detected from within 5 m of the detector, and (c) does not affect the shape of the curve used to convert neutron counts into SM. Simulation and rover measurements for a transect crossing between grass and concrete additionally suggest that (d) SM changes can be sensed over a length scales of tens of meters or less (roughly an order of magnitude smaller than commonly used footprint distances), and (e) the additional moderator does not reduce the detected neutron count rate (and hence increase noise) as much as might be expected given the extent of the additional moderator. The detector with additional HDPE moderator was also used to conduct measurements on a stubble field over three weeks to test the rover system in measuring spatial and temporal SM variation.

The COSMOS-UK observation network has been providing field-scale soil moisture and hydrometeorological measurements across the UK since 2013. At the time of publication a total of 51 COSMOS-UK sites have been established, each delivering high-temporal resolution data in near-real time. Each site utilizes a cosmic-ray neutron sensor, which counts epithermal neutrons at the land surface. These measurements are used to derive field-scale near-surface soil water content, which can provide unique insight for science, industry, and agriculture by filling a scale gap between localized point soil moisture and large-scale satellite soil moisture datasets. Additional soil physics and meteorological measurements are made by the COSMOS-UK network including precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, soil heat flux, wind speed and direction, and components of incoming and outgoing radiation. These near-real-time observational data can be used to improve the performance of hydrological models, validate remote sensing products, improve hydro-meteorological forecasting, and underpin applications across a range of other scientific fields. The most recent version of the COSMOS-UK dataset is publically available at https://doi.org/10.5285/b5c190e4-e35d-40ea-8fbe-598da03a1185 (Stanley et al., 2021).

The Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (GMEP) ran from 2013 until 2016 and was probably the most comprehensive programme of ecological study ever undertaken at a national scale in Wales. The programme aimed to (1) set up an evaluation of the environmental effects of the Glastir agri-environment scheme and (2) quantify environmental status and trends across the wider countryside of Wales. The focus was on outcomes for climate change mitigation, biodiversity, soil and water quality, woodland expansion, and cultural landscapes. As such, GMEP included a large field-survey component, collecting data on a range of elements including vegetation, land cover and use, soils, freshwaters, birds, and insect pollinators from up to three-hundred 1 km survey squares throughout Wales. The field survey capitalised upon the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) Countryside Survey of Great Britain, which has provided an extensive set of repeated, standardised ecological measurements since 1978. The design of both GMEP and the UKCEH Countryside Survey involved stratified-random sampling of squares from a 1 km grid, ensuring proportional representation from land classes with distinct climate, geology and physical geography. Data were collected from different land cover types and landscape features by trained professional surveyors, following standardised and published protocols. Thus, GMEP was designed so that surveys could be repeated at regular intervals to monitor the Welsh environment, including the impacts of agri-environment interventions. One such repeat survey is scheduled for 2021 under the Environment and Rural Affairs Monitoring & Modelling Programme (ERAMMP). Data from GMEP have been used to address many applied policy questions, but there is major potential for further analyses. The precise locations of data collection are not publicly available, largely for reasons of landowner confidentiality. However, the wide variety of available datasets can be (1) analyse

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2019. These data are from 51 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables.

High‐resolution river modeling is valuable to study diurnal scale phytoplankton dynamics and understand biomass response to short‐term, rapid changes in its environmental controls. Based on theory contained in the Quality Evaluation and Simulation Tool for River‐systems model, a new river model is developed to simulate hourly scale phytoplankton growth and its environmental controls, thus allowing to study diurnal changes thereof. The model is implemented along a 62 km stretch in a lowland river, River Thames (England), using high‐frequency water quality measurements to simulate flow, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, nutrients, and phytoplankton concentrations for 2 years (2013–2014). The model satisfactorily simulates diurnal variability and transport of phytoplankton with Nash and Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) > 0.7 at all calibration sites. Even without high‐frequency data inputs, the model performs satisfactorily with NSE > 0.6. The model therefore can serve as a powerful tool both for predictive purposes and for hindcasting past conditions when hourly resolution water quality monitoring is unavailable. Model sensitivity analysis shows that the model with cool water diatoms as dominant species with an optimum growth temperature of 14°C performs the best for phytoplankton prediction. Phytoplankton blooms are mainly controlled by residence time, light and water temperature. Moreover, phytoplankton blooms develop within an optimum range of flow (21–63 m3 s−1). Thus, lowering river residence time with short‐term high flow releases could help prevent major bloom developments. The hourly model improves biomass prediction and represents a step forward in high‐resolution phytoplankton modeling and consequently, bloom management in lowland river systems.

This dataset contains time series observations of surface-atmosphere exchanges of sensible heat (H) and latent heat (LE) and momentum (τ) measured at UKCEH eddy covariance flux observation sites during summer 2019. The dataset includes ancillary weather and soil physics observations made at each site. Eddy covariance (EC) and micrometeorological observations were collected using open-path eddy covariance systems. Flux, meteorological and soil physics observations were collected and processed using harmonised protocols across all sites.

This dataset consists of plant species presence and abundance in different sizes of plots recorded from 159 1km squares across Great Britain in 2020 and 2021, as part of a rolling soil and vegetation monitoring program of 500 1km squares, beginning in 2019 and repeated every 5 years. The UKCEH Countryside Survey is a unique study or 'audit' of the natural resources of the UK's countryside. The sample sites are chosen from a stratified random sample, based on a 15 by 15 km grid of GB. Surveys have previously been carried out in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1998 and 2007 by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and predecessors, with repeated visits to the majority of squares. 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. In addition to vegetation data, soil data are also gathered by the current phase of the Countryside Survey. 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.

This dataset consists of plant species presence and abundance in different sizes of plots recorded from the first 100 1km squares across Great Britain in 2019, as part of a rolling soil and vegetation monitoring program of 500 1km squares, repeated every 5 years. The UKCEH Countryside Survey is a unique study or 'audit' of the natural resources of the UK's countryside. The sample sites are chosen from a stratified random sample, based on a 15 by 15 km grid of GB. Surveys have been carried out in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1998 and 2007 by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) and predecessors, with repeated visits to the majority of squares. 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. In addition to vegetation data, soil data are also gathered by the current phase of the Countryside Survey. 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.

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2018. These data are from 50 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 senors 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.

The COSMOS-UK User Guide is a comprehensive guide to the data collected by COSMOS-UK, including the near-real time soil moisture data derived from counts of neutrons derived from cosmic rays. The User Guide contains: i) information about the sites, their locations and other metadata; ii) details of the instruments deployed at each site; iii) background information about the cosmic ray neutron counter which is used to derive soil moisture within a 12 hectare footprint; and iv) descriptions of data and information products that are available from COSMOS-UK.

This dataset contains time series observations of surface-atmosphere exchanges of net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE), sensible heat (H) and latent heat (LE), and momentum (τ) measured at an area of organically managed grassland located on the Berkshire Downs, UK. Turbulent flux densities were monitored using the micrometeorological eddy covariance (EC) technique between 1st January 2017 and 31st July 2019. The dataset includes ancillary weather and soil physics observations, as well as variables describing atmospheric turbulence and the quality of the turbulent flux observations.

This dataset contains daily and sub-daily hydrometeorological and soil observations from COSMOS-UK (cosmic-ray soil moisture) monitoring network from October 2013 to the end of 2017. These data are from 46 sites across the UK recording a range of hydrometeorological and soil variables. Each site in the network hosts a cosmic-ray sensing probe; a novel sensor technology which can be used, in combination with hydrometeorological data, to calculate the volumetric water content of soil over a field scale. The hydrometeorological and soil data are recorded at a 30 minute resolution and they include neutron counts from the Cosmic-ray sensing probe, humidity and atmospheric pressure data that are used to derive volumetric water content at two temporal resolutions (hourly and daily). Also included are soil heat flux, air temperature, wind speed and radiation data which are used to derive potential evapotranspiration at a daily resolution.

The COSMOS-UK User Guide is a comprehensive guide to the data collected by COSMOS-UK, including the near-real time soil moisture data derived from counts of netrons derived from cosmic rays. The User Guide contains: i) information about the sites, their locations and other meta data. ii) Details of the instruments deployed at each site. iii) Background information about the cosmic ray neutron counter which is used to derive soil moisture within a 12 hectare footprint. iv) Descriptions of data and information products that are available from COSMOS-UK.

This study reviewed the impacts of wastewater on macroinvertebrates over four decades in a UK lowland river. This involved examining changes in chemicals, temperature, flow and macroinvertebrate diversity from the 1970s until 2017 for a wastewater‐dominated river downstream of Swindon in the UK (population about 220,000). When the wastewater treatment process changed from trickling filter to activated sludge in 1991, biological oxygen demand was nearly halved (90%ile 8.1 to 4.6 mg/L), ammonia peaks dropped more than 7‐fold (90%ile 3.9 to 0.53 mg/L) whilst dissolved oxygen climbed consistently above 60% saturation (10%ile went from 49% to 64%) at a sampling point 2 km downstream of the wastewater treatment plant. A sustained increase in the number of macroinvertebrate species was evident from that point. River flow did not change, temperature rose slightly, whilst the major metal concentrations declined steadily over most of the monitoring period. Neither the introduction of phosphate stripping in 1999, nor the use of tertiary granular activated charcoal from 2008 to 2014 had strong positive effects on subsequent macroinvertebrate diversity. That the diversity still had not reached the ideal status by 2016 may be related to the modest habitat quality, agricultural pesticides and the limited recolonization potential in the catchment. The results indicate that urban wastewaters, with their chemical pollutants, are today probably not the biggest threat to the macroinvertebrate diversity of multiple‐stressed lowland rivers in the UK.

The River Thames and 15 of its major tributaries have been monitored at weekly intervals since March 2009. Monitored determinands include major nutrient fractions, anions, cations, metals, pH, alkalinity, and chlorophyll a and are linked to mean daily river flows at each site. This catchment-wide biogeochemical monitoring platform captures changes in the water quality of the Thames basin during a period of rapid change, related to increasing pressures (due to a rapidly growing human population, increasing water demand and climate change) and improvements in sewage treatment processes and agricultural practices. The platform provides the research community with a valuable data and modelling resource for furthering our understanding of pollution sources and dynamics, as well as interactions between water quality and aquatic ecology. Combining Thames Initiative data with previous (non-continuous) monitoring data sets from many common study sites, dating back to 1997, has shown that there have been major reductions in phosphorus concentrations at most sites, occurring at low river flow, and these are principally due to reduced loadings from sewage treatment works (STWs). This ongoing monitoring programme will provide the vital underpinning environmental data required to best manage this vital drinking water resource, which is key for the sustainability of the city of London and the wider UK economy. The Thames Initiative data set is freely available from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology’s (CEH)Environmental Information Data Centre at https://doi.org/10.5285/e4c300b1-8bc3-4df2-b23a-e72e67eef2fd.

This study provides a first national-scale assessment of the nutrient status of British headwater streams within the wider river network, by joint analysis of the national Countryside Survey Headwater Stream and Harmonised River Monitoring Scheme datasets. We apply a novel Nutrient Limitation Assessment methodology to explore the extent to which nutrients may potentially limit primary production in headwater streams and rivers, by coupling ternary assessment of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C) depletion, with N:P stoichiometry, and threshold P and N concentrations. P limitation was more commonly seen in the rivers, with greater prevalence of N limitation in the headwater streams. High levels of potential P and N co-limitation were found in the headwater streams, especially the Upland-Low-Alkalinity streams. This suggests that managing both P and N inputs may be needed to minimise risks of degradation of these sensitive headwater stream environments. Although localised nutrient impairment of headwater streams can occur, there were markedly lower rates of P and N impairment of headwater streams relative to downstream rivers at the national scale. Nutrient source contributions, relative to hydrological dilution, increased with catchment scale, corresponding with increases in the extent of agricultural and urban land-use. The estimated nutrient reductions needed to achieve compliance with Water Framework Directive standards, and to reach limiting concentrations, were greatest for the Lowland-High-Alkalinity rivers and streams. Preliminary assessments suggest that reducing P concentrations in the Lowland-High-Alkalinity headwater streams, and N concentrations in the Upland-Low-Alkalinity rivers, might offer greater overall benefits for water-quality remediation at the national scale, relative to the magnitude of nutrient reductions required. This approach could help inform the prioritisation of nutrient remediation, as part of a directional approach to water

The aim of this project is to meet the urgent need for further understanding of (1) the effectiveness of agri-environment scheme delivery on ecological and chemical water quality and (2) the monitoring programme required to enable its quantification.

Agricultural land is a major source of diffuse nutrient and sediment pollution in UK rivers (Davies et al., 2009, Poole et al., 2013). The management of the agri-environment is a complex process supported by UK and EU legislation. The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provides funding streams to enable national environmental stewardships (ES) programmes, or ‘agri-environment schemes’ that provide financial incentives to farmers and land managers to farm in a way that supports biodiversity and improves the quality of soils and water. Currently 70% of farmland in England is covered by environmental stewardship schemes, the current incarnation of which is ‘Countryside Stewardship’ (Defra, 2015). Water quality is an important part of such schemes, indeed they provide funding for a range of management options to reduce diffuse water pollution, principally related to the application of nutrients, soil tilling and the establishment of buffers and fencing around waterbodies. In England, these measures are further supported by the Catchment Sensitive Farming project (CSF) which provides free training and advice to farmers to improve the environmental performance of the farms and reduce diffuse water pollution in priority catchments (Natural England, 2014). The ‘catchment based approach’ has emerged in recent years as catchment scale collaborations between stakeholders to deliver improvements to the water environment beyond those of ES schemes. Though the measures provided by ES schemes are essentially best practice measures, it is still necessary, in view of the financial investment, to determine their efficacy. However, across the EU, studies that test the success of ES schemes are uncommon, and are usually inadequate to assess reliably the efficiency of the scheme (confounding factors include biased site selection, inadequate controls, weak before/after information, lack of replication and no baseline data, confounding effects of multiple measures) (Kleijn & Sutherland

This report summarises available ecological monitoring information for the River Wolf gathered by the Environment Agency and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology from the 1990’s to the present. We report on physical habitats, macroinvertebrates, diatoms and water chemistry. We focus on the influence of Roadford reservoir on downstream ecological quality vs. the influence of other factors such as water chemistry

A demonstration of the use of genomics in freshwater ecology based on data from the Tamar catchment, UK

Use of earth observation to inform river habitat surveys