Major datasets and facilities hosted by CEH

Biological Records Centre

Knowledge of the geographical distribution of species underpins much ecological research and wildlife conservation. The Biological Records Centre (BRC), jointly funded by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, is playing a leading role in the development of the National Biodiversity Network. BRC collates records of species location, habitat, etc, creating a unique resource of spatially and temporally referenced data. Included among the data collected by the BRC since 1964 are a database of over 12 million records from Britain and Ireland; on-going surveys of 16,000 species and published distribution maps and atlases of 12,000 species.

BIOPRESS

Download the dataset from the BIOPRESS project, the main aim of which was to determine historical changes (1950 – 1990 – 2000) in land cover across Europe for the purpose of measuring changes in habitats and their biodiversity.

CEH Data Dictionaries

CEH has produced a number of data dictionaries covering a wide range of subjects. They are currently held at different CEH sites. Some are already available on the web, but it is hoped that gradually they will become accessible through this site. Data dictionaries that are currently available include:

CORINE Land Cover Map

The CORINE Land Cover (CLC) Map of Great Britain is a pan-European product showing 44 land cover types at a minimum mappable unit of 25 ha and a minimum feature width of 100 m (for linear features). The CLC map is provided in vector format and is designed specifically to be viewed and used at a 1:100,000 scale. The UK contribution to the CLC1990 and CLC2000 products were based on the generalisation of Land Cover Map of Great Britain and the Land Cover Map 2000. Obtain more information and quotes for CLC data from the LCM2000 website.

Countryside Survey 2007

CEH manages the data resulting from the Countryside Survey 2007 (CS2007). This major survey undertaken in 1998 updates information on the habitats, plants, landscape features and land types of Great Britain, and repeats and extends surveys carried out over the past 20 years. All these data will be made available in a variety of forms to users with many interests and abilities. More information is available from the Countryside Survey website.

Designated Data Centres

CEH's EIDC (Environmental Information Data Centre) is the overarching data centre and coordinates and consolidates environmental data management and information systems across CEH. It carries out corporate functions for CEH as a whole including representation of Natural Environment Research Centre DDC (Designated Data Centre) functions.

DDCs hosted by CEH include the National Water Archive, The Biological Records Centre, the UK Environmental Change Network and NEBC (NERC Environmental Bioinformatics Centre.

Land Cover Map 2000

Land Cover Map 2000 (LCM2000) is a product depicting land cover across the UK at the turn of the millennium. It provides a complete map of the land cover of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from satellite information, accurate to the field scale, and checked against ground survey. LCM2000 is used by government departments and agencies in England, Scotland and Wales; county councils; charities and commissions, and environmental management bodies. LCM2000 is used for a wide range of applications including environmental character assessments, environmental protection, transport planning, animal disease distribution, bird and habitat relationships and forestry research. Please click here for more information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

National River Flow Archive and National Water Archive

The National River Flow Archive and the National Groundwater Level Archive form the core of the National Water Archive (NWA). A broad range of hydrological - and related - data are being assimilated into the coordinated management the NWA provides. NWA staff maintain close contacts with measuring authorities and keep developments under review in the fields of network design, instrumentation and information technology. Continuing dialogue with data suppliers and end-users ensures that the databases and retrieval facilities are reviewed continuously to provide an effective and responsive service across a wide range of applications.

NERC Research Programmes

CEH is responsible for making provision to acquire, manage and disseminate data in support of some NERC Research Programmes. Details of current NERC programmes can be found here. Programmes with CEH involvement include NEBC and Rural Economy and Land Use – harnessing science for sustainable rural development. Previous Programmes have included LOCAR (Lowland Catchment Research); URGENT (Urban Regeneration and the Environment); LOIS (Land-Ocean Interaction Study; TIGER (Terrestrial Initiative in Global Environmental Research); Soil Biodiversity - biological diversity and ecosystem function in soils and the Soil Bio data discovery tool.

Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme

A long-term (>40 years), large-scale (the whole of Great Britain) scheme that quantifies a range of contaminants in predatory bird tissues and eggs. More information is available on the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme website.

UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

The UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKMBS) was set up in 1976 to provide information on changes in the abundance of butterflies at selected monitored sites throughout the United Kingdom. The network now consists of over 1,700 sites, with more than 750 sites being recorded each year. The information collected by the scheme is used to measure national trends in butterfly numbers and assess the impacts of climate change. Results from the scheme provide one of the UK Biodiversity Indicators. The UKBMS is run as a partnership between CEH and Butterfly Conservation and is co-funded by Defra, Countryside Council for Wales, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Forest Research, Natural England, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage. More information is available from the UKBMS website.

UK Environmental Change Network

CEH coordinates the Environmental Change Network (ECN), the United Kingdom's integrated network for monitoring environmental change, officially launched in 1992. The ECN aims to identify and quantify environmental changes associated with human activities, to distinguish man-made change from natural variations and trends, and to give warning of undesirable effects. ECN maintains a set of monitoring sites across the UK and obtains comparable long-term datasets from these sites. More information about the ECN, including access to summary data, is available from the ECN website.

United Kingdom Environmental Data Index

The UK's investment in environmental data collection and observing systems is very high. Data on air, water and land quality are dispersed across the UK in databases and collections maintained by many different government departments and agencies, local and regional authorities, university departments, institutes, laboratories, data centres and private companies. Collectively, these data represent a huge resource for studying the UK environment. The United Kingdom Environmental Data Index (UKEDI) provides a searchable directory of information about these datasets and how to gain access to them.

United Kingdom National Focal Centre for Critical Loads Modelling

A critical load can be defined as a quantitative estimate of an exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur according to present knowledge. A critical load refers to deposition of pollutants, whereas a critical level refers to pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere, which usually have direct effects on vegetation or human health.

The United Kingdom National Focal Centre (UK NFC) for critical loads modelling and mapping activities is based at CEH's Lancaster site. It is responsible for co-ordinating critical loads mapping activities in the UK and compiling national critical loads datasets and maps. More information is available from the The United Kingdom National Focal Centre website.

United Kingdom Phenology Network

Phenology is the study of the times of recurring natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate. It includes recording when you heard the first cuckoo or first saw the blackthorn blossom. This can then be compared with past records. In autumn 2000 the Woodland Trust joined forces with CEH to promote phenology to a far wider and larger audience. Over 40,000 people across the UK are now registered to record with the UK Phenology Network, around half of current records being made online.