Countryside Survey 1978 vegetation plot data
Cite this dataset as:
Barr, C.J.; Bunce, R.G.H.; Smart, S.M.; Whittaker, H.A. (2014). Countryside Survey 1978 vegetation plot data. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/67bbfabb-d981-4ced-b7e7-225205de9c96
Download/Access
PLEASE NOTE:
By accessing or using this dataset, you agree to the terms of the relevant licence agreement(s). You will ensure that this dataset is cited in any publication that describes research in which the data have been used.
© Database Right/Copyright UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. All rights reserved.
The following acknowledgement shall be used on all copies of the data, publications and reports, including use in presentations to any audience. 'Countryside Survey data owned by NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology'
This dataset is made available under the terms of the Open Government Licence 
https://doi.org/10.5285/67bbfabb-d981-4ced-b7e7-225205de9c96
This dataset consists of plant species presence and abundance in different sizes and types of plots from 256 1km x 1km square sites surveyed across Great Britain in 1978. Many of the plots were repeated in 1990, 1998 and 2007. General information about the plot was recorded including plot number and type as well as species presence and (usually) cover. Data were collected under the Countryside Survey long term monitoring project managed by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Publication date: 2014-03-04
View numbers valid from 01 June 2023 Download numbers valid from 20 June 2024 (information prior to this was not collected)
Format
Comma-separated values (CSV)
Spatial information
Study area
Spatial representation type
Tabular (text)
Spatial reference system
OSGB 1936 / British National Grid
Temporal information
Temporal extent
1977-07-01 to 1978-10-31
Provenance & quality
The data were recorded onto paper field sheets in the summer of 1978 by surveyors (a few sites were surveyed in 1977). Data were recorded from 256 1km squares sited across Britain, selected by random stratified sample. The survey was managed by the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (which later became part of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology). Standard Countryside Survey methodology was applied (refer to the online documentation).
Licensing and constraints
This dataset is made available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
Cite this dataset as:
Barr, C.J.; Bunce, R.G.H.; Smart, S.M.; Whittaker, H.A. (2014). Countryside Survey 1978 vegetation plot data. NERC Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/67bbfabb-d981-4ced-b7e7-225205de9c96
© Database Right/Copyright UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. All rights reserved.
The following acknowledgement shall be used on all copies of the data, publications and reports, including use in presentations to any audience. 'Countryside Survey data owned by NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology'
Related
This dataset is included in the following collections
Citations
Wood, C. M., Smart, S. M., Bunce, R. G. H., Norton, L. R., Maskell, L. C., Howard, D. C., … Henrys, P. A. (2017). Long-term vegetation monitoring in Great Britain – the Countryside Survey 1978–2007 and beyond. Earth System Science Data, 9(2), 445–459. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-9-445-2017
Pass, D.A., Morgan, A.J., Read, D.S., Field, D., Weightman, A.J., & Kille, P. (2014). The effect of anthropogenic arsenic contamination on the earthworm microbiome. Environmental Microbiology, 17(6), 1884–1896. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12712
Harris, C., & Ratnieks, F.L.W. (2021). Clover in agriculture: combined benefits for bees, environment, and farmer. Journal of Insect Conservation, 26(3), 339-357 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-021-00358-z
Jones, L., Brennan, G.L., Lowe, A., Creer, S., Ford, C.R., & de Vere, N. (2021). Shifts in honeybee foraging reveal historical changes in floral resources. Communications Biology, 4(1) https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01562-4
Seaton, F.M., Robinson, D.A., Monteith, D., Lebron, I., Bürkner, P., Tomlinson, S., Emmett, B. A., & Smart, S. M. (2022). Fifty years of reduction in sulphur deposition drives recovery in soil pH and plant communities. In Journal of Ecology (Vol. 111, Issue 2, pp. 464-478). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14039
Harris, C., Christopher, R., Humphrey-Ackumey, S., Mercer, R., Ney, P. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. (2023) Pollinator spillover: Hay cutting of grass with white clover, Trifolium repens, displaces bees and increases their abundance in adjacent patches of bramble, Rubus fruticosus. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 354, 108581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108581
Correspondence/contact details
Wood, C.
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg
Lancaster
Lancashire
LA1 4AP
UNITED KINGDOM
enquiries@ceh.ac.uk
Lancaster
Lancashire
LA1 4AP
UNITED KINGDOM
Authors
Barr, C.J.
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology
Bunce, R.G.H.
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2750-7832
Whittaker, H.A.
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology
Other contacts
Rights holder
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Custodian
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk
Publisher
NERC Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk