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NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme

The NERC Soil Biodiversity Thematic Programme was established in 1999 and was centred upon the intensive study of a large field experiment located at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute (now the James Hutton Institute) farm at Sourhope in the Scottish Borders (Grid reference: NT8545019630). During this time, the site was monitored to assess changes in aboveground biomass production (productivity), species composition and relative abundance (diversity).
The primary aims of the Programme were to achieve simultaneously an understanding of the biological diversity of the soil biota and the functional roles played by soil organisms in key ecological processes. In seeking to achieve these aims, 24 separate research projects were funded, providing a range of data regarding soil structure, soil processes (such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles) and the roles of micro-fauna and flora (Bacteria, Nematoda, Protozoa and Fungi), microarthropods (including Collembola and Acari), invertebrate root feeders (Tipulid, Bidionid and Scarabeid larvae), meso-fauna (such as Enchytraeidae) and macro-fauna (including Megradili, Mollusca and Coleoptera).
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This data collection contains these resources

publishedDataset
Plant and soil animal diversity measurements from a disturbance and nitrogen addition experiment in an upland grassland site [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Measurements of microarthropod community structure and diversity from an upland grassland experimental site [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Plant biomass, soil conditions and stable isotope concentrations in soil, roots and shoots from a microcosm experiment [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Bacterial community structure and soil process data from a sewage sludge amended upland grassland soil experiment, 2000 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Measurements of carbon-14 transfer from plants to soil within mesh cores [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Measurements of nutrient cycling within grassland mycorrhizal mycelial networks [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Microbial biomass measurements from an upland grassland liming experiment [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi diversity data from a grassland microcosm experiment [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Earthworm and botanical data from the Sweethope mesocosm experimental site, Sourhope, Scotland, 2001 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Enchytraeid worm abundance and delta 13C cholesterol data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 2000 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Static chamber measurements of nitrous oxide flux from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 2000-2001 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi diversity data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 2001 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Substrate utilisation profiles for saprotrophic fungi and moisture content data from soil sampled in an upland grassland experiment at Sourhope, Scotland, 2001 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Soil bacterial cell counts and moisture content from a water stress experiment [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Substrate utilisation profiles and moisture content data from soil sampled in an upland grassland experiment at Sourhope, Scotland [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Earthworm data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 1999 and 2001 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Soil fauna data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 2002-2003 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Soil microbial community resilience data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 2001 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Soil protozoa data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Soil profile descriptions, biomass data and vegetation species from a joint sampling event at Sourhope, Scotland, 2000 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Automatic weather station (AWS) data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 1999-2002 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Botanical data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 1999-2002 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Baseline soil pH data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 1999-2002 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Biomass data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 1999-2002 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
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Soil treatment data from Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland, 1999-2002 [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]
publishedDataset
Rigg Foot topographical survey data, Sourhope field experiment site, Scotland [NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme]

Supplemental information

Website for the NERC Soil Biodiversity Programme