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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.
Speakers' presentations available
The speakers' slides from our recent symposium, 20 years of ECN monitoring and research, are now available.
Data
- Explore & plot summary data
- View data time series
- Request full datasets
- Explore environmental indicators
News
Events
Featured Publication
Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) population declines and phenological changes: Is there a connection?
Featured site: Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh covers 386 km2 and is by far the largest area of freshwater in the British Isles. Situated in north-east Ireland, it has a drainage basin of 4450 km2, which is shared between Northern Ireland (91%) and the Republic of Ireland (9%). The average water retention time is 15 months. Although large in area, the lake is relatively shallow with a mean depth of 8.9m (max. 25 m). This, combined with its great size and a mild and windy oceanic climate, ensures that the water column is generally well mixed. The lake supports commercial fisheries for eels, pollan, perch and trout of which the eel fishery is the most significant. Lough Neagh has mean annual total phosphorus concentration of 160 mg P l-1. Attempts to lower P concentrations in the lough by curtailing point sources of P have been unsuccessful due to increasing inputs from diffuse sources.
