This data set includes counts of soil meso-fauna collected from topsoil within a wide range of land use types across Wales, collected as part of the Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (GMEP). Meso-fauna include collembola (springtails) and acari (mites).
The monitoring programme was set up by the Welsh Government in 2013 to monitor the effects of the Glastir agri-environment scheme on the environment and ran from 2013 to 2016. The field survey element was based on a stratified random sampling design of 300 x 1km square sites across Wales, and was managed by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Format of the dataset : Comma-separated values (CSV)
You must cite: Keith, A.M.; Astbury, S.; Dodd, B.A.; Emmett, B.A.; Fitton, A.; Garbutt, A.; George, P.; Marshall, R.; Robinson, D.A.; Williams, B.; Wood, C.M. (2019). Topsoil meso-fauna data from the Glastir Monitoring and Evaluation Programme, Wales 2013-2014. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/1c5cf317-2f03-4fef-b060-9eccbb4d9c21
For the avoidance of doubt, if the publication of the Licensed Data is not within Wales, the Welsh form of the acknowledgement wording is not required.
Where/When
Study area
Temporal extent
2013-04-01 to
2016-12-01
Provenance & quality
Within each of 300 x 1km sample squares, a set of soil samples are taken from 5 pre-determined randomly dispersed locations (where possible). The soil sample analysed for soil fauna is taken using a white plastic core (‘F-core’), 8cm long, from a location co-incident with vegetation surveys.
After collection, the soil cores were posted as soon as possible to laboratories at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Lancaster, for faunal extraction.