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IntroductionPartnershipsPolicyScience
Monitoring, data and research to understand environmental change
We are the UK's long-term environmental monitoring and research programme. We make regular measurements of air, soil, water and a range of animals and plants across a network of sites to determine how and why the natural environment is changing.
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IntroductionSciencePartnershipsPolicy
Understanding environmental change. Supporting environmental science
Our data are used to detect and understand trends in the environment and in the presence and abundance of plants and animals. We support researchers by providing long-term environmental datasets and well-instrumented sites for field research.
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IntroductionSciencePolicyPartnerships
Science to support policymaking and management of natural resources
ECN’s data and expertise are relevant to a range of environmental policy issues including climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Long-term monitoring can inform policies and check how well they work.
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IntroductionSciencePolicyPartnerships
An active consortium with links across the globe
ECN is a partnership of UK organisations responsible for environmental policies and natural resource management. We also work with similar networks in other countries. ECN is the UK node of ILTER, the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network.
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Featured Publication
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in UK soils and the influence of soil, vegetation type and seasonality
Featured site: Lambourn
The River Lambourn rises near the village of Lambourn in the chalk of the Berkshire Downs at an altitude of about 152m. It is 26km long and flows in a south-easterly direction to Newbury where it joins the River Kennet. There is one important tributary, the Winterbourne Stream, which flows into the Lambourn just upstream of Newbury. The sampling site is located at Bagnor in the town of Newbury at an altitude of about 80m, about 5km above the confluence with the Kennet. The underlying bedrock is chalk, with overlying river gravels.
The catchment is mostly rural, with mixed farming as the main industry, and there are extensive decidous woodlands on the catchment boundary. Ten kilometers from the source, the river receives input from East Shefford sewage works. Water quality in the Lambourn is good; the river is classified as General Quality Assessment (GQA) biological class 'b' and chemical class 'A'.
See also:
- River levels on the Winterbourne at Bagnor (Environment Agency)
- River Lambourn Observatory (CEH)
