Soil physico-chemistry, high-frequency soil nitrate, PLFA microbial communities, greenhouse gas emissions and litter quantity and quality under oak decline at Writtle Woodlands, Essex, UK, 2022-2023
bibliographic citation: Dhandapani, S., Shaw, L., McNeil, T., Lu, B., Booth, O., Corbett, L., Lunn, J., Nightingale, A., Niu, X., Roose, T., John, J., Lin, H., Adekanmbi, A.A., Dudley, A., Holt, L., O'Brien, M., Frost, H., Xiao, F. (2026). Soil physico-chemistry, high-frequency soil nitrate, PLFA microbial communities, greenhouse gas emissions and litter quantity and quality under oak decline at Writtle Woodlands, Essex, UK, 2022-2023. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/26bbd3ed-adbd-464c-b31a-bbfb7052e9bf
description: This dataset captures one year of seasonal biogeochemical monitoring in the root zones of English oak (Quercus robur) trees affected by Acute Oak Decline (AOD), Chronic Oak Decline (COD), and healthy control trees in Writtle Woodlands, Essex, UK. Measurements include: (1) total soil nutrients at the start and end of the sampling period (2) Monthly bioavailable soil nutrients, moisture, pH, conductivity, temperature in surface soil (0-10 cm). (3) Seasonal bioavailable soil nutrients at multiple depths (0-40 cm), (4) seasonal litterfall mass and composition (leaves, seeds, wood, flowers), (5) litter chemistry (i.e., C, N, pH, and metals) (6) greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes (CO2, CH4, N2O) from static chambers, and (7) microbial community structure derived from phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiling. Data were collected between October 2022 and August 2023 at three replicated trees per health status category (AOD, COD, healthy). Measurements also include: (8) High frequency nitrate concentrations and soil moisture content obtained using in situ sensors (one sensor per tree per health status) and daily rainfall totals. The data enable assessment of temporal changes in soil chemistry, litter dynamics, microbial communities, and GHG fluxes in relation to tree health.
provenance: ProvenanceStatement
  label: Soil and litter were sampled monthly or seasonally from fixed positions around nine trees (three per health class). Laboratory analyses included inorganic nitrogen by KCl extraction and Skalar SAN++ autoanalyser, available elements by Mehlich-3 extraction and ICP-OES (Perkin Elmer Avio 550 Max), total C and N by Flash 2000 Elemental Analyzer, and microbial community profiling by PLFA-GC-FID. Greenhouse gas fluxes (CO2, CH4, N2O) were measured using static chambers and gas chromatography. High-frequency soil nitrate and moisture were monitored using a custom-built Droplet Microfluidic-Based In Situ Analyzer (University of Southampton) installed at 10 cm depth. The analyzer was laboratory-calibrated, maintained monthly, and field-recalibrated using nitrate standards. Quality control included routine calibration and in-house reference materials.
spatial: Location
temporal: PeriodOfTime
  start date: 2022-10-01
  end date: 2023-08-31
publisher: NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
subject: Environmental survey
subject: In situ nutrient sensor
subject: Litter
subject: oak decline
subject: Quercus robur
subject: soil
subject: nitrate
type: Dataset
available: 2026-04-30
landing page: https://doi.org/10.5285/26bbd3ed-adbd-464c-b31a-bbfb7052e9bf
license: plain
access rights: UNRS
theme: Environmental survey
distribution:
  access URL: https://data-package.ceh.ac.uk/data/26bbd3ed-adbd-464c-b31a-bbfb7052e9bf
  license: plain
  access rights: UNRS
  format: Comma-separated values (CSV)
creator: Dhandapani, S.
creator: Shaw, L.
creator: McNeil, T.
creator: Nightingale, A.
creator: Niu, X.
creator: Roose, T.
creator: Adekanmbi, A.A.
creator: O'Brien, M.
creator: Frost, H.
language: en

Shaw, L.
type: Person
family name: Shaw
given name: L.
member: University of Reading

NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
type: Organization

Dhandapani, S.
type: Person
family name: Dhandapani
given name: Selva
member: University of Reading

Shaw, L.
type: Person
family name: Shaw
given name: Liz
member: University of Reading

McNeil, T.
type: Person
family name: McNeil
given name: Thomas
member: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

Lu, B.
type: Person
family name: Lu
given name: Bingyuan
member: University of Glasgow

Booth, O.
type: Person
family name: Booth
given name: Oliver
member: University of Reading

Corbett, L.
type: Person
family name: Corbett
given name: Luci
member: University of Reading

Lunn, J.
type: Person
family name: Lunn
given name: James
member: University of Southampton

Nightingale, A.
type: Person
family name: Nightingale
given name: Adrian
member: University of Southampton

Niu, X.
type: Person
family name: Niu
given name: Xize
member: University of Southampton

Roose, T.
type: Person
family name: Roose
given name: Tiina
member: University of Southampton

John, J.
type: Person
family name: John
given name: Jiji
member: University of Reading

Lin, H.
type: Person
family name: Lin
given name: Hanqing
member: University of Reading

Adekanmbi, A.A.
type: Person
family name: Adekanmbi
given name: Adetunji Alex
member: University of Reading

Dudley, A.
type: Person
family name: Dudley
given name: Anne
member: University of Reading

Holt, L.
type: Person
family name: Holt
given name: Laura
member: University of Nottingham

O'Brien, M.
type: Person
family name: O'Brien
given name: Marta
member: University of Reading

Frost, H.
type: Person
family name: Frost
given name: Harry
member: University of Reading

Xiao, F.
type: Person
family name: Xiao
given name: Fengjuan
member: University of Reading

Environmental survey
type: Concept

Quercus robur
type: Concept

soil
type: Concept

nitrate
type: Concept

University of Reading
type: Organization

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
type: Organization

University of Glasgow
type: Organization

University of Southampton
type: Organization

University of Nottingham
type: Organization

Decoding Nitrogen Dynamics in Soil through Novel Integration of in-situ Wireless Soil Sensors with Numerical Modeling
type: Activity

Decoding Nitrogen Dynamics in Soil through Novel Integration of in-situ Wireless Soil Sensors with Numerical Modeling
type: Activity