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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've been making regular measurements of air, soil, water and a range of animals and plants across a network of sites for over 25 years, supporting science 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.
Connecting the networks
Through co-location of measurements and the sharing of data, ECN sites collectively contribute in many ways to other UK and international observation and research networks/initiatives. These contributions are made through a mix of standard ECN monitoring and additional monitoring / research. For terrestrial ECN sites, here is a summary of these connections.
Data
- Over 2 decades of data
- Complete datasets, 1993-2015
- Explore & plot summary data
- View data time series
- Request full datasets
- Explore environmental indicators
News
Events
Featured Publication
Featured site: Porton Down
As well as being a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Porton Down is also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area (SPA) covering over 1500 hectares. It constitutes the largest uninterrupted tract of semi-natural chalk grassland in Britain, a habitat which has declined by more than 80% in the last 50 years. As well as the grassland the site supports large areas of mixed scrub, including juniper, and broadleaved, mixed and coniferous woodland.
